Economic Development Event Dispels Myths

LAS VEGAS– The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA) hosted its signature State of Economic Development event on Friday, March 4 at Red Rock Resort. More than 600 attendees registered for the event, which brought together local elected officials and community and business leaders to discuss next steps in diversifying the Southern Nevada economy.

The program began with remarks from Michael Brown, Executive Director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), who illustrated the continued need for economic diversification in the region.

“As I look toward Nevada’s future, our recovery does not necessarily come from rebounding, but from rebalancing,” said Brown. “Rebalancing will build the resiliency we need in Nevada’s economy going forward.”

A panel of economic development leaders from Southern Nevada municipalities provided insights and updates on new developments and initiatives within their jurisdictions. Each also discussed their biggest obstacles to economic growth, including available land, a qualified workforce, healthcare, and permit processing.

Finally, newly appointed LVGEA President & CEO Tina Quigley took the stage for an engaging ‘fact v. myth’ session for attendees. Through multiple statements about the region’s economy, land and water availability, and workforce development, she engaged audience members with questions and discussed the driving forces behind each.

Quigley also discussed next steps, including an immediate need to begin working challenges facing growth in the region. “We’ve got water issues, we’ve got land issues, we’ve got workforce issues,” said Quigley, “Water and land are tough for us as a community to overcome. That’s going to require innovation and some congressional action.”

She continued, “We need to stay competitive against other large cities in the Southwest. We need to take a look at the barriers to entry for companies who want to relocate here. When a company comes here, they want to know they can get up and running as soon as possible, that we can get the infrastructure to them, and they can get through the permitting process quickly.”

The event was moderated by Betsy Fretwell, Executive Vice President of Strategy at Switch and Chairwoman of the LVGEA50 Board of Directors. “It was a banner year for LVGEA, our regional partners, and the businesses we attracted to Southern Nevada,” said Fretwell. “In fact, we broke our record for job creation in 2021, with 39 new businesses and 6,235 new jobs.”