ICSC: International Council of Shopping Centers

ICSC's 48th Spring Convention opens in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — The 48th annual ICSC Spring Convention opened at the Convention Center here today with a record turnout of about 46,000 retail real estate professionals from around the world, up from about 41,000 last year.

Former President William Jefferson Clinton helped kick off the four-day event with an address to several thousand people packed into a ballroom at the Las Vegas Hilton, next to the Convention Center.

For developers, prospering is about much more than signing deals and attracting shoppers, he said, asserting that the industry has a big part to play in confronting some of the problems facing the world.

"Climate change is this industry's biggest threat over the next 30 years," he said, appealing to developers to build energy-efficient centers.

He also expressed concern that while America's productivity has steadily improved over the past five years, wages have not. The adoption of innovative energy technologies and policies would lead to a job boom that would in turn benefit landlords and retailers, he said.

Other headline speakers in the course of the conference will include TV host and comedian Jay Leno this evening; Steve Wynn, casino and resort developer and the CEO of Wynn Resorts, tomorrow; and NFL star quarterback and TV sportscaster Phil Sims on Tuesday morning.

But making deals and money is the main business of the convention, the largest gathering of retail real estate professionals in the world. The Trade Expo opened today, where hundreds of vendors showcased their goods and services to the industry. Tomorrow the Leasing Mall opens, and this is where some 25 percent of the deals landlords make with retailers each year are initiated or sealed. Approximately 27,000 people are expected to go through the Leasing Mall each day of the convention. All 675,000 square feet of Leasing Mall and Trade Expo floor space is taken up by the exhibitors, and as usual there were companies on a long waiting list that failed to get in. (That situation will ease next year when ICSC takes over even more space at the center.)

In addition to developers, public officials are out in force more than ever, hoping to attract retailers and developers to their communities. The public sector has increasingly recognized the important role retail real estate plays in generating tax revenue. Maryland's governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., is in Las Vegas for the fourth consecutive year. He describes the event as "a wonderful thing to do" because it enables Maryland politicians and development professionals to be in the same place at the same time, fostering invaluable contacts and deals. "I find it an incredibly efficient use of my time," Ehrlich said.

Kwame M. Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit, is also enthusiastic about the retail opportunities the convention presents. "Detroit's strong presence at the convention has proven to be very beneficial to our economic development efforts," he said. "We have been successful in luring Home Depot and Forman Mills into Detroit, which would not have happened if we didn't attend the ICSC Spring Convention."

There will be plenty of activity away from the Convention Center too, with landlords, banks and other kinds of firms putting on lavish parties for clients.

The growth in attendance and importance of the Leasing Mall has been nearly a half century in the making. The first Spring Convention took place in 1957 at the Palmer House hotel in Chicago and drew about 100 retail real estate professionals.

The conference concludes Wednesday.