Attendees will have more new things to see when they arrive for NAB Show than the products on the exhibit-hall floor — like the Las Vegas Convention Center itself.
This year’s show is the first to be held since the LVCC completed a $600 million renovation project that’s been ongoing since 2023. The project extends elements of the modern, $1 billion design introduced with the renovation of West Hall in 2021 across the whole of the convention center’s 4.6 million-square-foot campus.
The latest renovations, unveiled in January, have added more than 100,000 square feet of lobby space, modernized meeting areas and connected key exhibit halls, enhancing the attendee experience and the LVCC’s ability to host multiple major events simultaneously.
“Much of it is about developing a world-class convention center that meets the scale, ambition and evolution of Las Vegas,” said Dan Hayes, LVCC chief operating officer.
He came on board in November after a 25-year run in the business, including as general manager of the Salt Palace Convention Center and Mountain America Expo Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Trends in the convention business call for spaces that are as much about experience-making for attendees as they are about commerce or education, he said, and that’s part of what the LVCC’s refresh is all about.
The Wow Factor
“There’s still education, but there’s a greater emphasis now on place-making and experience-building, so attendees feel like they’re part of something unique,” he said.
“Those experiences often happen in large, public gathering spaces, and that’s something we leaned into heavily with this build.”
One of the first things NAB Show attendees might notice is a large, glass curtain wall facing the Strip, with a sweeping roofline or “eyebrow” that extends across the front of the complex. This continues a theme that was introduced when the West Hall opened.
Once inside, attendees enter a 60-foot atrium that’s dominated by a 75-foot-wide, 42-foot-tall LED video display.
“It’s jaw-dropping when you walk in and see it,” Hayes said.
The atrium isn’t just a way in: It’s meant as a gathering area and a space for activations, sponsorship displays or attendee engagement experiences. It offers wall and window clings and other engagement points for the use of shows or exhibitors, Hayes said.
This year’s NAB Show will offer a host of new wrinkles for attendees who want to know about the technologies, business models and strategies shaping the future of media. Here’s a sampling of what attendees can expect:
Creator Lab (Central Hall): The Creator Lab has significantly expanded its Central Hall footprint and will offer hands-on experiences, brand activities and programming focused on the next-generation of storytelling tools and a burgeoning creator economy projected to reach $500 billion by 2027, according to NAB.
TV and Radio HQ (Central Hall): The enhanced TV & Radio HQ moves to a more prominent spot in Central Hall and features enhanced programming, including fast-paced sessions at the HQ Theater and live conversations on the trends and technologies shaping the future of TV, radio and audio storytelling.
Enterprise Video Strategies (West Hall and VideoNext Theater): This brand-new track explores how enterprise organizations are adopting media and entertainment technologies to power corporate storytelling, internal communications and audience engagement.
VideoNext Theater (West Hall): Here, practitioners, creators and technologists will share insights on the craft and technology behind modern video storytelling.
AI Innovation Pavilions (West Hall): A central hub for M&E artificial intelligence solutions with demonstrations, networking events and discussions on automation, generative tools and AI-driven production workflows.
Startup Pavilion (West Hall): This area highlights early-stage companies introducing new technologies and services aimed at transforming media production, distribution and monetization.
Attendees will also find the TV and radio exhibit area, including the TV and Radio HQ, just inside the convention center’s newly renovated façade facing the parking lot, easily accessible via Entrance E.
In the Central Hall atrium, “there are a number of seating nooks and lounge areas on both levels with furniture, tables and chairs, so people can step away from the show floor and have a meeting, a Teams call or a Zoom call,” Hayes said. “They don’t have to go back to their hotel room.”
The South Hall also has been redesigned to include a new east-side entrance, a state-of-the-art boardroom and new administrative offices.
Attendees will also find it easier to get around. An indoor corridor now connects Central and South halls, eliminating the need to walk outside. “That connection now ties the entire campus together from South Hall all the way to West Hall,” Hayes said. “That’s an enormous advantage today that didn’t exist before.”
There’s also the ever-expanding Vegas Loop, which will remain free of charge on the LVCC campus, with connections now extending from the South Hall to Central Station to West Hall/Riviera Station, with added stops at Westgate, Resorts World and Wynn/Encore. The Loop continues to expand and could reach Harry Reid International Airport by the time the 2027 NAB Show rolls around, Hayes said.
And don’t fret the Wi-Fi this year. There are now some 3,000 access points throughout the convention center. Dining options are expanded, too, with specials offered from 2 p.m. to close on show days and more healthy options on tap than in the past.
Room to Grow
One of the goals of the renovations was to accommodate multiple events with minimal friction.
That flexibility will be tested this year as NAB Show in Central, North and West Halls overlaps with WWE World (April 16–19), the annual fan fest tied to WrestleMania 42, in South Hall.
“In the past, limited lobby space meant registration sometimes had to be placed inside an exhibit hall, which displaced other exhibitors,” Hayes said.
“Now that we’ve added this giant lobby space, we’re able to host concurrent events and maximize the building’s capacity.”
So far, according to Hayes, the new features have been well-received, and Las Vegas is trending toward one of its busiest convention years ever, with the LVCC alone targeting 1.6 million visitors this fiscal year and 1.8 million for fiscal 2027.
Many of the center’s largest shows are posting their strongest attendance numbers since before the pandemic, according to Hayes.
“We are the biggest operator in the space, we are the most successful operator in this space and we absolutely want a convention center that demonstrates that and shows that,” he said.
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