Future of Las Vegas

Nevada Week | The Future of Las Vegas     

SEASON 4: EPISODE 7 | Airdate: 8/27/2021

Recently, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, or LVGEA, held an event to launch the 41st annual Las Vegas Perspective, a treasure trove of data about Southern Nevada. Covering everything from the price of homes to the price of groceries, the Perspective offers a snapshot of Las Vegas that can be used to lure businesses to the city and foreshadow what’s ahead for the city’s economy. 

Jared Smith, the chief operating officer at the LVGEA, said communities and companies use the information in the Perspective to make “data-driven” decisions. Smith said the data in the report is a way to aggressively tell Las Vegas’ story to people and businesses looking to come to Southern Nevada.

Jeremy Aguero, principal at Applied Analysis, worked with the LVGEA to create the Perspective. He said that while there are some positive economic trends in Southern Nevada, there are some things to be concerned about, especially as the stimulus money from the federal government begins to burn out at the end of the year.

He is concerned about the rise in housing prices, which is he said is a supply-side problem, and he’s concerned about job losses brought on by the economic downturn from the pandemic.

The main goal of the LVGEA is to bring new businesses to Southern Nevada and diversify the economy. Smith said that effort is ramping up after last year’s lull. He said businesses are looking to come to Las Vegas.

However, that effort could be hamstrung by the lack of available land that can be used for industrial purposes. Both Aguero and Smith agreed that having more land available for industry is vital for growing the economy. 

An important part of our economy right now is the billions we’re getting from the federal government. Gov. Steve Sisolak and Treasurer Zach Conine are on a 75-stop listening tour right now to get an idea of where Nevadans think that money should be spent.

Conine said there are basically two kinds of funds. Money that has restrictions on where it should be spent and money that has fewer strings attached. The state wants to allocate the money with more restrictions first and then come in with the funds that have fewer restrictions to fill in the gaps.

Conine believes the money is an unprecedented chance to fundamentally change some of the systems in Nevada. Conine gave this analogy: instead of using the money to put out fires, he and the governor would like to spend the money to put in a sprinkler system. 

Editor’s Note: Like many community-based organizations in Southern Nevada, Vegas PBS is participating in state and local listening session and have requested related funding.  

Guests

• Jared Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance
• Jeremy Aguero, Principal, Applied Analysis
• Zach Conine, Nevada State Treasurer

Resources

• Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance
• Applied Analysis
• Nevada Recovers