The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors today approved telecommunications contract worth up to $50 million.
The seven-year pact, with a three-year option to Cox Communications subsidiary Cox Nevada Telcom, is worth an estimated $5 million a year.
The deal, one of the largest approved by the LVCVA board, uproots Smart City Networks, which has handled the contract for 15 years. Cox and Smart City were the two finalists for the contract and evaluations of the two companies’ capabilities were close.
Cox plans to tie the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center into its citywide fiber-optic system and will expand the center’s Wi-Fi network.
Board members debated the contract for more than an hour, with some wanting to delay action to receive more information on Cox’s plans to contract with out-of-state partners.