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DEVELOPER
REVIEW |
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| Las
Vegas Sands Corp
June 2008 |
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LVS is one
of the leading international developers and operators of multi-use
integrated resorts. The company, based in Las Vegas, Nevada,
the United States, owns and operates The Venetian® Resort-Hotel-Casino,
The Palazzo® Resort-Hotel-Casino and Sands Expo and Convention
Center in Las Vegas and The Venetian® Macao-Resort-Hotel
and Sands Macao Hotel in the People’s Republic of China
(PRC) Special Administrative Region of Macao.
The company is currently constructing two additional integrated
resorts: Sands Bethworks™ in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
the US, and The Marina Bay Sands™ in Singapore. LVS is
also creating Cotai Strip®, a masterplanned development
of resort-casino properties in Macao. Additionally, the company
is working with the Zhuhai Municipal People’s Government
of the PRC to masterplan the development of a leisure resort
and convention complex on Hengqin Island in the PRC, which will
complement the entertainment developments on the Cotai Strip®. |
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SRLI
caught up with David Sylvester, Vice President, Retail Development
Asia of Las Vegas Sands Corp to find out more about the company
and its development plans in Asia.
Whilst on Honeymoon in Venice in 1991, Chairman Sheldon Adelson
had a ‘eureka moment’, finding inspiration a mega-resort
hotel and straight away began to create the US$1.5bn Venetian®,
a Venice themed resort hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Later,
he took the concept to Macao and, in 2006 was, after a competitive
bidding process, awarded a license to construct the first integrated
resort in Singapore’s Marina Bay.
In 2007, Adelson opened the US$2.4bn The Venetian® Macao-Resort-Hotel
on Cotai and announced that he planned to create a massive,
concentrated resort area called Cotai Strip®, after its
Las Vegas counterpart. LVS plans to invest US$12bn and build
20,000 hotel rooms on the Cotai Strip® by 2010. |
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So
what lies behind the concept?
“The term ‘integrated resort’ is all-important
for us, it is what makes the retail element work; whilst a
conventional mall will have a retail anchor, our standard
model comprises the convention business, hotels, entertainment
and casinos,” explains Sylvester. We have MICE facilities
of approximately 1.2 million square feet, the world’s
largest casino, one million square feet of retail, 3,000 hotel
suites, a 15,000-seat arena and an 1,800-seat theatre, and
the whole idea is that they all work together to drive retail
sales.”
Cotai Strip® is a phenomenal development, with five separate
shopping malls planned and 20,000 new hotel rooms scheduled.
“The beauty of the masterplan is that each of the retail
malls has its own niche, enabling greater choice for the customer,”
Sylvester explains. “We started with The Grand Canal
Shoppes at the Venetian®, providing a premium brand high
street mix, and next to that is The Shoppes at Four Seasons
Macao, Cotai Strip®, a luxury boutique mall.”
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Currently
under construction in Macao is Cotai Central™, which
lies at the heart of the development. It is a 700,000sq ft
mall that accompanies the Shangri-La and Traders, and Sheraton
and St Regis resorts. Cotai Central will in turn be linked
to The Shoppes at Four Seasons Macao, Cotai Strip® and
The Grand Canal Shoppes by air-conditioned travelators, creating
an unprecedented retail experience under one roof.
Retail Development Asia’s fourth mall in Macao will
be home to a premier collection of flagship stores belonging
to some of the world’s most visible, leading fashion
and luxury brands. The mall will be opened alongside the Hilton/Conrad
and Fairmont/Raffles resorts and will present contemporary
luxury retailing in a format that brand owners have to date
only dreamed of and that developers aspire to.
“The whole idea,” says Sylvester, “is to
offer a ‘complete’ experience — you do not
need to go anywhere else to find what you are looking for,
and this goes back to the ‘integrated’ concept
that I talked about earlier.”
The retail shops on Cotai Strip® will provide the critical
mass necessary to transform Macao into a leading retail centre
in Asia, Sylvester said.
For
the full article please see the RLI June 2008 issue
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| DEVELOPER
REVIEW ARCHIVE |
|
Capital
Shopping Centresp - March 09
Chartered
Land - November 08
The
Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group - September 08
Las
Vegas Sands Corp - June 08
Redevco
- Dec 07
Chartered Land - Nov 07
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Paramount
Publications Ltd Suite 15, Hardmans Business Centre, New
Hall Hey Road, Rawtenstall BB4 6HH UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1706 212200 Fax: +44 (0) 1706 211782 Email:
info@rli.uk.com
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