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talking points How to keep the city growing Transportation projects are vital to the health of our economy in a global era by Bruce Spotleson I n late October, Tom Skancke was hired to head the Las Vegas Regional Economic Development Council, the agency designated to organize and promote diversification efforts in Southern Nevada. From the beginning, Skancke seemed an ideal fit. As a local government affairs consultant, he had learned a good deal about neighboring state governments and how to work both with and around them. He built a specific expertise in transportation, serving as the go-to guy for problems related to the Interstate 15 corridor that connects us with Los Angeles and for opportunities related to Interstate 11, which would link us with Phoenix. Skancke's understanding of how transportation affects the public and private sectors — and the realities of getting things done within either — gave him solid footing for economic development work. So when he spoke Jan. 24 at the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce's annual Preview Las Vegas (one of his first presentations since taking the job), the audience paid attention. Skancke talked about globalization and the central role transportation plays in economic development. He easily described the connection. "If we're going to live in a global economy, we're going to have to be better connected," he said. That means improving our connections to other Western cities, and since tourism is still very much the foundation of our economy, not relying on an already burdened I-15 to carry even more visitors from Southern California to Las Vegas. "The additional capacity of I-15 today is almost zero," he said. "The lifeline needs help." Skancke insists that an obvious remedy is the much-discussed XpressWest high-speed train, which would whiz across the desert at up to 150 miles per hour. He pointed out that many other countries already have high-speed rail or are investing in systems. "Beijing moves 19 million people a day in and out of the city," he said. Skancke is impatient with any politicizing of the issue. "It baffles me that there are people who think that these are 'pork' proj- ects," he said. With Long Beach now overloaded as a shipping hub, Mexico may create a port in Guaymas, which could boost the Phoenix economy and quickly make Interstate 11 more important, Skancke said. Add in a high-speed train and Las Vegas could find itself with two interstate highways and a highspeed rail line. Not a bad place to be, really. Skancke noted that he has seen broad support for his agency's mission and mentioned three things Southern Nevadans can do to help: Embrace tourism, the key to our local economy. Encourage new industry. And, perhaps most importantly, excite the world, as only Las Vegas can. 'If we're going to live in a global economy, we're going to have to be better connected.' — Tom Skancke, head of the Las Vegas Regional Economic Development Council Big developments in tourism Plans for convention center redo, Cosmopolitan auditorum and water center bode well by Richard N. Velotta J anuary ended with a flourish of big announcements, all of which bode well for Southern Nevada's tourism industry. If you aren't convinced by now that Las Vegas' economy is rebounding, you're surely a pessimist. Please do all of my fellow optimists a favor and let us enjoy the moment. Last week, I pointed out that the UNLV Now project isn't as much about having an athletic facility for the Rebels as it is about having a spacious new special events venue in the heart of the city. I called on the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to take a leadership role in getting the facility built because its mission is all about putting heads in beds and the new stadium would most certainly do that. But that column was written and printed before I heard LVCVA President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter's presentation at Preview Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce's 20 20130204_VI20_F.indd 20 big networking event at the Thomas & Mack Center. There, Ralenkotter revealed that his executives are going to pitch the LVCVA board of directors on a plan to make over the Las Vegas Convention Center in a big way. A refurbishing plan for the center was in the works in 2007 but got shelved when the economy went south. Ralenkotter, a long-time Las Vegas resident who attended Bishop Gorman High School and UNLV, is all about the history of the city. He appreciates imagery of the past and understands that it guides us to the future. Ralenkotter also recognizes the convention center as the heart of the city and proposes a design that pays homage to the rotunda on Las Vegas' first convention facility. Plans for the new center include a dome-like cap over the entrance, reminiscent of the historic rotunda where the Runnin' Rebels played, the Beatles performed and Los Angeles Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain's NBA scoring record. Ralenkotter also plans to make good on Las Vegas' commitment to being an international business center by building a World Trade Center on the convention center campus, a concept that the Consumer Electronics Association endorsed and agreed to partner with. Finally, Ralenkotter unveiled plans to develop an intermodal transportation center at the convention center. It will be a one-stop staging center for buses, limousines and taxis. More information will be available Feb. 12 when administrators present details to the board. Also announced last month: The Cosmopolitan is building a 3,000-seat auditorium that's expected to be ready by the end of the year. It will have a fas- cinating design concept, modeled after an Eastern European glass factory. Anyone who has seen the Cosmo's spectacular chandelier knows the company knows its way around glass. And last month's approval by the Governor's Office of Economic Development for a Center of Excellence in water development, while it didn't receive a lot of publicity, is huge. The center will partner with IBM and aims to become the leading authority on water development. Why is this important to tourism? Because once it is operational, which is anticipated in three months, people from all over the world are expected to travel here to learn about water. It may not be a massive events center, but it will be one of the under-the-radar attractions Las Vegas does so well. rick.velotta@lasvegassun.com / 259-4061 / @vegasinc_therv Approval by the Governor's Office of Economic Development for a Center of Excellence in water development didn't receive a lot of publicity but is huge. | 4 FEBRUARY 2013 | 1/31/13 3:07:15 PM