LOCATE Las Vegas shines light on business community collaboration in Southern Nevada

All eyes were on Southern Nevada this month as the Big Game drew in celebrities, sports fans and business executives from across the nation. Dubbed ‘Sportstown USA’ by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the story of Las Vegas’ sports economy boom is an impressive one.???

So impressive, in fact, it garnered national headlines from major news outlets like MarketWatch, Forbes, Reuters, Bloomberg and others. With Super Bowl LVIII serving as Southern Nevada’s debut as a Super Bowl host community, economic development leaders from throughout the region recognized the opportunity to leverage this newfound visibility to advance business attraction efforts.??

Leading up to the Big Game, Clark County and partners from throughout the community came together to host LOCATE Las Vegas — an initiative designed to convince corporate leaders to commit to relocating their businesses to Southern Nevada.??

C-suite executives from 16 companies in an array of industries — from health care and biotech to fintech and sports — were immersed in the region’s business ecosystem as they attended three days of meetings, tours and face-to-face sessions with government and community leaders.??

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When asked about points of discussion with the visiting executives, Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones pointed toward the community’s ability to move the needle for businesses in an impactful way. “Of course, our tax structure is attractive to companies, but our advantages go far beyond that. Southern Nevada is a place where you can really make a big difference in a short amount of time, and we have the support system in place to help make it happen,” said Commissioner Jones.??

The LOCATE initiative was a sweeping success, with more than 150 community partners coming together to introduce the executives to 44 locations and host 17 presentations. Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo helped kick off the weekend with a welcome reception for the executives, a testament to the region’s unique advantage of having direct access to government leaders at both the state and local levels.??

“I thought it was very smart. We had a hook. We knew people would want to come to a major event — a Super Bowl. And not just any Super Bowl, but one in Las Vegas,” said Director of Industry and Business Engagement for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV), Jamie Schwartz , referring to the concept behind LOCATE.?

Schwartz and several other representatives from UNLV had the opportunity to present to the executives at Blackfire Innovation, the University’s center for accelerating innovation in hospitality, gaming and entertainment.??

“The University at large is really focused on advancing the research profile and research activity with industry,” said Schwartz. “We want to be in position so that as companies and industry are trying to solve problems that are common to the entire industry, or even specific problems or issues for a given company, UNLV is available to do that kind of high-level research."?

“We have some of the most talented researchers on our campus. We've attracted them from top-tier universities. They're here. They're building innovation programs with the intention to attract industry and additional researchers to that space.”?

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That message was a key component of the UNLV team’s presentation to the visiting executives, who were able to better understand the breadth and depth of the University’s capabilities and the talent it's producing.??

As part of LOCATE, executives were also introduced to key community assets and businesses like the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, Howard Hughes’ 22,500-acre master-planned community — Summerlin, the Las Vegas Aces headquarters and many others.???

“I’m hopeful that LOCATE is the first of many events in which we capitalize on the numerous sporting and entertainment events and conventions that come to our town to showcase the opportunities we have for building businesses here in Southern Nevada,” said Commissioner Jones.??

LOCATE was a true testament to the level of collaboration that exists within Southern Nevada’s business ecosystem. Clark County, along with leaders from the City of Las Vegas , the City of North Las Vegas and the City of Henderson partnered with the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA) to make LOCATE happen.??

Designed as a public-private partnership, private entities that supported the effort included Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. , Caesars Entertainment , MGM Resorts International , Wynn Las Vegas , Allegiant , Cox Business , the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority - LVCVA , Republic Services , Budget Suites of America , Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas and 美林证券 .