Mandalay Bay Convention Center Overhaul Complete Following $100M Investment

Posted on: June 5, 2024, 11:16h. 

Last updated on: June 5, 2024, 11:29h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

MGM Resorts International has completed its $100 million makeover of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Convention Center along the southern tip of the Las Vegas Strip.

Mandalay Bay Convention Center Las Vegas MGM
Mandalay Bay has finished the $100 million renovation of its Convention Center. The project refreshed the facility’s interiors and brought new technology infrastructure to the 2.1 million-square-foot complex. (Image: MGM Resorts International)

Announced in October 2022, MGM poured $100 million into updating the approximately 2.1 million square feet of convention facilities at the integrated resort casino. The project included a comprehensive remodel with upgraded technology infrastructure, digital signage, and a revamped, interior design to complement the resort’s tropical-inspired motif.

Mandalay Bay opened in March 1999 at a cost of $950 million. Circus Circus Enterprises, which later became Mandalay Resort Group before MGM acquired the firm in April 2005, envisioned, built, and opened the 43-story luxury destination. The $100 million allocation to the resort’s convention facility was the largest renovation of the meeting space since the resort opened more than 25 years ago.

Conventions Critical to Las Vegas Strip

The Las Vegas economy relies heavily on conventions and large-scale meetings and events.

In pre-pandemic 2019, Las Vegas conventions brought a record 6.6 million people to Southern Nevada. Convention traffic continues to recover, with meetings accounting for about six million travelers to Las Vegas last year.

Conventioneers tend to spend more money than leisure travelers, as their airfare and rooms are often covered by their employers, and many are provided a per diem that ends up being gambled or spent on food and beverage, entertainment, and shopping.

An economic study completed by Applied Analysis for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said convention attendees spent $9.1 billion in 2023 and supported almost 44K jobs on $2.4 billion in wages. Conventions keep casino hotel rooms and their resort amenities bustling midweek when leisure traffic tends to dip.

Meetings and conventions play a pivotal role in the success of Las Vegas, and the revitalization of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center demonstrates our commitment to this critical piece of our city’s foundation,” said Ernest Stovall, Mandalay Bay’s vice president of hotel sales.

“Our goal is to evolve alongside the meetings industry to meet the needs of the modern customer. Based on invaluable insights from our customer advisory board, we crafted a space at Mandalay Bay that sets a new standard in excellence and reflects the future of modern meetings, events, and trade shows,” Stovall added.

Mandalay Bay’s convention facility is the third-largest in Las Vegas behind the Las Vegas Convention Center at approximately 4.6 million square feet and The Venetian Convention & Expo Center at The Venetian and Palazzo that spans about 2.25 million square feet.

Convention Center Updates?

Mandalay Bay isn’t the only major convention facility that’s being updated.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is undergoing a $600 million renovation of its North, Central, and South halls to bring those facilities up to date with the $1 billion West Hall that opened in late 2021. The $600 million investment includes similar upgrades as Mandalay Bay, including digital signage, new interiors, upgraded technology, and a new parking lot.

The Venetian, owned by Vici Properties, the real estate investment trust of Caesars Entertainment, and operated by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, announced last fall a $188 million update to its Expo Center.