LVCVA chief receives $179K bonus as leaders praise 2022 results

Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority President and CEO Steve Hill will receive a 7.5 percent pay increase and a 40 percent bonus, the authority’s board unanimously decided Tuesday morning.

Other top leaders of the LVCVA also received significant compensation increases — and praise — from the authority’s board.

The full board’s vote came a couple weeks after a six-member Compensation Committee recommended Hill receive a $33,570 annual raise, bringing total salary to $481,179, and a bonus of $179,043. It leaves him about 4 percent below the average pay rate given to top leaders of destination marketing organizations around the country, according to the Compensation Committee.

“I often say I have the best job you can have, and I also say it’s the easiest product to sell,” Hill said to the board on Tuesday. “It’s the only product where all you have to do is mention the name and everyone’s eyes light up.”

General Counsel Caroline Bateman also received a 5 percent merit raise, bringing her salary to roughly $230,000 and a 20 percent bonus, or $44,000. This will put her 4 percent above market average in terms of base pay, according to the Compensation Committee.

The full board also approved recommendations from the compensation committee to set new ranges for the executive officers of the tourism authority. Chief marketing officer and chief sales officer can now have a salary base range between $267,000 and $374,000 with a maximum bonus of 30 percent.

Chief financial officer, chief operating officer and general counsel can have salary bases between $203,000 and $284,000, with a maximum 20 percent bonus. Lastly, senior vice president of communications can earn a base wage between $164,000 and $230,000, with a maximum 20 percent bonus.

“Having sat on this board for over 20, 25 years, the culture change that we’ve achieved and the management team put together has been really extraordinary,” Jan Jones Blackhurst, a member of the Caesars Entertainment board of directors, said before the unanimous vote approving Hill’s compensation.

LVCVA’s goals

Hill was also asked to share his goals for the next few years with the full board. He said he wants to drive visitation demand further; fill the Las Vegas Convention Center meeting space; develop special sports and events; complete the convention center’s renovation; improve access to Las Vegas attractions and to strengthen LVCVA’s culture.

To drive demand, Hill’s team is focused on attracting more international visitation – still at about 60 percent of what it was pre-pandemic – and driving social media impressions. He wants the Visit Las Vegas brand to achieve 10 million social media followers by the end of the 2026 fiscal year, according to his Tuesday presentation.

The LVCVA aims to lease 15 million square feet of meeting space across the destination and grow to 8.3 million convention attendees by calendar year 2026, Hill said during the meeting. The current record is 6.6 million in 2019.

To improve community access in Las Vegas, the LVCVA is collaborating with Harry Reid International Airport to maintain a daily average of 94,000 inbound seats on flights to the city, according to the presentation. The organization also is partnering in the expansion of the Boring Co.’s Resort Corridor Loop System – which is tunneling at the new Westgate and Wynn/Encore resort stops.

LVCVA also wants to improve growth on the LVCVA-owned Las Vegas Monorail system, which saw a 20 percent increase in passengers from fiscal year 2022.

Sports gets special highlight

Developing sports and sporting events got its own goal highlight during Hill’s presentation. The authority previously set a goal to become “part of regular rotation for marquee events” and generate 100,000 room nights for amateur and youth sports — events that can drive visitation during summertime and holiday seasons when conventions are off-peak.

It already broke that goal. In the 2023 fiscal year, amateur and youth sporting events generated 420,000 room nights, 245,000 of which were in off-peak times, according to Hill’s goal presentation. The agency now wants to generate 500,000 room nights with 250,000 during off-peak times from amateur sport events by the 2027 fiscal year.

Among the new sporting events on the LVCVA calendar are the Naismith College Basketball Series, which begins in November and runs annually through 2027 with an estimated 92,000 visitors over four years. An estimated 220,000 are expected in town for the NCAA men’s Final Four championship in March 2028.

Also during the meeting, the board approved a roughly $1 million sponsorship agreement for the Naismith series — also known as the Hall of Fame Series — to be held at T-Mobile Arena. It equates to $262,000 per year over four years.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.