Our city features more live entertainment in a single day than any other in the world, and that excitement brings visitors and delegates back time and again,” said Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) CEO Rossi Ralenkotter, celebrating 45 years with the bureau in 2018.

The first weekend of March 2018 was a great time to be a sports fan in Vegas. The line-up included three NASCAR races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway; USA Sevens rugby at Sam Boyd Stadium; and on consecutive nights at the T-Mobile Arena, Vegas Golden Knights hockey, followed by a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), its headquarters and Performance Institute being located in Vegas.

Only in Vegas can you turn a groundbreaking into a show,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in November 2017 as ceremonial shovels hit the ground for the new $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed football stadium that will bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas in 2020.

Las Vegas creates tremendous memories for people,” said Rossi Ralenkotter in an interview. “It’s part of who we are.” Ralenkotter, the visionary leader of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) since 2004 and current CEO, is very much part of Vegas.

Las Vegas means business—and it all depends on people. The big wheels are the visionaries past and present who built, and continue to build, Vegas.

After attending the annual Glass Craft & Bead Expo in 2005, Richmond, Va.-based glass and fiber artist Lura Dillard wanted a lasting memory of her “unforgettable” first visit to Las Vegas. “Purchasing dice, poker chips and other materials from local shops, I created my mosaic-ed ‘Vegas Memory’ hubcap,” Dillard said. “It inspired a series of destination-based pieces, with gallery shows and sales.” Vegas is a marketplace for ideas and commerce like no other. Inaugurated in 1994, the three-day Expo has called South Point Hotel Casino and Spa home for 13 years. 

Port Aransas and Mustang Island (Texas), San Antonio, St. Louis, Richmond, Virginia, and Providence, Rhode Island, are boosting their branding and group appeal through culinary programming.

From attention-getting cultural scenes to major new convention centers, here are four destinations where major downtown investments are significantly reshaping and redefining the meetings scene.

Brandon Robinson, CAE is executive director with the Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) in Richmond, Virginia. The group recently held its 2018 Annual Conference in Norfolk.