Convention Center reports staff vaccination rate
Nearly three-quarters of the employees working at the Las Vegas Convention Center have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors was told Tuesday.
LVCVA President and
CEO Steve Hill reported that 73 percent of 330 full-time employees — known by the agency as “ambassadors” — were vaccinated under a new employment requirement announced Sept. 1.
Hill said employees had to prove COVID-19 vaccination or submit to weekly testing as of Sept. 7.
He told the board that the new policy was put in place when some convention and meetings planners said they would require vaccination or testing of any personnel that would assist with staging shows.
The Convention Center has some major shows on its calendar in the next two months — the National Business Aviation Association and Specialty Equipment Market Association aftermarket automotive parts trade show among them.
In another matter, the LVCVA board also approved a five-year,
$1.3 million contract with Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center for on-site medical services at the Convention Center. The contract with Sunrise includes an optional threeyear extension.
The board voted to select Sunrise from six vendors that submitted proposals to staff four first-aid rooms with registered nurses at convention center halls to assist conventioneers who are injured or fall ill.
LVCVA Chief Operating Officer Brian Yost told the board that providing medical services to convention attendees is a service the LVCVA offers to differentiate itself from competitors.
The contract for Sunrise, the current medical provider, expires at the end of September. The new contract includes annual payments beginning at $238,000 for the 2022 fiscal year, gradually growing to $285,770 in the 2026 fiscal year.
In another matter, the LVCVA board also unanimously approved a $2.5 million contract with Townhouse, an affiliate of the Grey Global Advertising Group, which in July won a contract with the LVCVA to develop its social media branding.
Townhouse, a production company, is signed for two years with two optional one-year extensions totaling $10 million.
The Townhouse deal is part of the $160 million contract the LVCVA authorized with Grey.