Appreciating the history of one of the most famous tradeshow venues November 28 2018
The Las Vegas Convention Center is the largest single-level convention center in the world with over 1,940,631 sq ft of exhibit space, it hosts shows that can accommodate over 200,000 participants!
Many of the largest industry tradeshows are hosted here and it has a great history including being the site of several major professional boxing fights in the 1960s, such as Gene Fullmer versus Sugar Ray Robinson, Sonny Liston versus Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali versus Floyd Patterson. President John F. Kennedy also spoke here in 1963. The Las Vegas Convention Center is arguably one of the most important trade show halls in the world!
While taking a break from the recent MJ Biz Con I got a chance to wander around and found this corridor with lots of awesome historical photos of the Las Vegas Convention Center. I had no idea this is where Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) beat Floyd Patterson. Or where JFK spoke in 1963.
While the public history of this venue is significant, the Las Vegas Convention Center is historical for me personally as well! Early in my career, as a young tradeshow booth designer, I spent several years from 1996-1999 coming to the MAGIC Fashion trade show while I was with Mobius here at Las Vegas Convention Center.
This is still a major major trade show destination although it’s been somewhat replaced by all of the casinos in Vegas such as Mandalay Bay. If you get a chance, I encourage you to attend your next industry tradeshow hosted at the Las Vegas Convention Center and be sure to look around and appreciate the historical significance of this venue!
Also, a prime Boothologist tradeshow tip is to stay at the WestGate Hotel right next door. A room typically costs only $77 and you can walk right next door to the Convention Center. And why not check out headliner Barry Manilow while your there!