VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
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Q+A: Rosemary Vassiliadis free cellphone lot and second airport still possible By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer McCarran International Airport is under new leadership, at a time when domestic airlines are once again starting to make money. Airlines have crafted conservative growth strategies and hope to fill their flights to capacity with minimal financial outlay. How does that play at McCarran, which is working to bring more seats into the market? Rosemary Vassiliadis took over as director of the Clark County Aviation Department about three months ago, replacing Randall Walker, who retired. She discussed her new job and what's next for McCarran with VEGAS INC: Passenger traffic has been running flat all year. Why? Are you concerned? We're always concerned. Our station is profitable for all domestic carriers, and I think they're just a little sluggish on their next step. The days of low yields and not making money in Las Vegas are gone forever. Our job will be to convince the airlines that increases in seat capacity will keep them profitable. We're going to be adding around 5,000 rooms with the ing to need that second airport. We're still moving toward capacity at McCarran. If we ever get 60 million to 63 million passengers a year, we're going to need a second airport, even with a next-generation air-traffic system. It would be very shortsighted of us not to preserve that site. vegas inc file quick pickup: Visitors to McCarran International Airport use kiosks to pay for short-term parking. The first 15 minutes of short-term parking are free. SLS and Resorts World in a relatively short period of time, so we're hoping that will intrigue them. An empty building is never good. It's a prime site, and it will give us some flexibility for how we want to grow. Are there plans for the old Terminal 2 site? I want to implode it. Whether I'll be able to, I don't know, but it is going away in some fashion. Is the idea of a second airport south of Las Vegas dead? No. We're still preserving that site (in the Ivanpah Valley, near Primm). If Las Vegas grows again to the south, we're go- What else is on your agenda for the airport? I'm looking at building efficiencies. We have been growing and building. This is the first chance we've had to step back and look at how we're operating. We have to have the best customer service, not just the lowest-costing, cheapest way of doing business. We're the first impression people have of Las Vegas, and we take that role very seriously. So one of the first efficiencies we looked at is gate utilization. We closed part of the A gates as a cost-saving measure, but I can't say whether they're going to remain closed or if we're going to close more. We built Terminal 3 knowing that it could handle additional flights. We're waiting for some of the airline mergers to occur before we determine how to use that space. see airport, page 12 development UNLV stadium authority board kicks off discussions By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer The 11 members of the new UNLV Campus Improvement Authority board of directors this month got their first look at the pile of work that lies ahead of them in the newest bid to build an oncampus football stadium. At the inaugural meeting of the board charged with delivering a recommendation to the Nevada Legislature on the scope, cost and financing of a stadium, members reviewed a rough checklist of the steps involved in delivering the report to lawmakers by the Sept. 30 deadline. The biggest difference between the new effort and the failed UNLV Now | 28 October 2013 20131028_VI07_F.indd 7 | proposal is that the board has representation from Southern Nevada's resort community, including executives from Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Boyd Gaming and Wynn Resorts. The earlier proposal involved an exclusive negotiations agreement between UNLV and Majestic Realty. The UNLV Now plan faltered when the resort community through the Las Vegas Resort Association publicly questioned the size, cost and financing of the proposed stadium. But there is some continuity from the UNLV Now plan. Don Snyder, who had been the point man for the stadium project, was elected chairman of the new authority board. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's representative on the board, Boyd Gaming executive Paul Chakmak, was elected vice chairman. The resort community's participation on the board is deemed critical to the success of the stadium, which not only would serve as the future home of the UNLV football team but could host major entertainment and convention events too large for any of the city's arena venues. UNLV President Neal Smatresk said locating a stadium and related ameni- ties on campus would be a step toward drawing additional support that would transform UNLV into a top-tier university. While several board members made it clear that they hoped a new stadium proposal would be tempered in scope and cost, representatives of the Development Advisory Board that addressed the authority are still hopeful of including some of the bells and whistles proposed in the UNLV Now plan. Board members fear that removing some of the iconic features of the initial proposal — including a 100-yard-long video wall — would doom the stadium to mediocrity. 7 10/23/13 1:02:48 PM