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Two months ago, 3G Productions broke ground on Enclave, a 75,000-square-foot venue that will consist of spaces for corporate meetings, conferences, trade shows, weddings and receptions, broadcasting events, training and seminars, rehearsals and live entertainment. It will be located one mile from McCarran International Airport and four miles from the Las Vegas Strip.
3G Productions is Eli Stearns, CEO & President; Keith Conrad, Chief Operating Officer; and Jay Curiel, co-founder and Senior Vice President. Jack Bulavsky, Special Assignment Correspondent for Casino Life, talked to Stearns and Conrad during ground breaking ceremonies.
Tell me more about 3G and Enclave.
Stearns: Back in 2004, Jay and I formed 3G Productions, Inc. This came about after years of seeing events struggling in venues that were not suitably designed for superior productions. That led us to believe there had to be a better way for high profile clients. Enclave was created over time to meet this need and we plan to have construction completed by Fall of this year. We’re already booking events for January 2017.
The inspiration for Enclave began as 3G Productions was looking for more space as our lease was expiring. Always searching for ways to improve, the question was raised on how we take the new space opportunity to bring greater value and create better experiences for our customers. The answer was to start with a clean sheet of paper and create a one of a kind, compelling, multi-functional venue for demanding clients. And in Las Vegas, that’s a challenge because it is one of the greatest cities for meetings and conventions due to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Chambers of Commerce exceling in brining people together from around the world.
Conrad: 3G has grown beyond our imagination. We have over 500 employees and full operations in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Our audio rental and production business has continued to flourish. We’ve built new business from global broadcast events to national festivals and concerts. We proudly partner with the Riot Games, Insomniac, DirecTV, AEG and Life is Beautiful. Additionally, we have added integration and installation departments as well as a non-union stagehand and rigging labor division. Our install division has completed projects such as the audio system in the Axis Theater where Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez perform and the Chelsea at Cosmopolitan where Bruno Mars has performed. On the labor division, we are the in-house labor provider for the Mandalay Bay Event Center and Bellagio, and were recently awarded the contract for the new T-Mobile Arena. It’s been a wild ride to say the least and we feel the train has barely left the station.
Can you go into more detail about Enclave and what it’s going to offer clients?
Stearns: MGM, Caesars and others have wonderful event spaces that set the bar very high. However, customers always expect more in Las Vegas and that’s why we scrutinized every project design detail to guarantee Enclave will excel in all areas. We planned for the future knowing that technology will bring new opportunities as the landscape is rapidly changing from social media to virtual reality. Live streaming and broadcasting are solid, everyday undertakings for us. One of our clients hired 3G’s broadcasting team to deploy our network communications equipment and engineers to Berlin for the finals of the most popular e-sports event where 36 million people around the world watched video games played live - on their smart phones and computers. That’s twice the amount of people that tuned into the NBA finals on TV.
Conrad: Enclave will help businesses interact more effectively and successfully even as our complex infrastructure blends into the background. So when guests want to collaborate, captivate or celebrate, we’re able to deploy our excellent technical and production standards of excellence. That means more than enough power on hand where it’s needed (inside and outside), structural framing to handle the most demanding loads at any one point, clear ceiling heights in excess of 31 feet, elephant doors to drive in boats, trucks and anything else you would need to display, and acoustically designed walls and ceilings for sound clarity and noise abatement.
There are great opportunities for branding the entire building for someone’s corporation or wedding. Enclave is a beautiful canvass for its customers to turn their visions into reality and a medium to inspire people’s voices to be heard. Everything is designed to elevate the client’s experience. Furthermore, Enclave is pursuing a strategy to be LEED compliant, specifically being resource efficient through its use of energy and environmental design practices.
Stearns: With an in-house partnership with its sister company 3G Productions, Enclave will be able to provide Audio/Visual, Technology and Production that will bring our extensive experience and expertise to all programs. 3G Productions has worked across the globe giving clearer insight into the international markets and their specific needs.
The flexible design of event space provides the perfect fit for the international market. In addition to traditional spaces such as conference rooms and ball rooms, Enclave will offer Production Rooms, Living Rooms and two separate Garden Spaces, as well as other spaces that allow groups greater flexibility for their total program. Its location near McCarran International Airport allows for a level of exclusivity and privacy not typically found in facilities. Couple this with the fact that the venue is designed especially for events where no ratio-limitations will be placed on spaces available per number of guests. Simply put, any size group may have as much space as they want provided they pay the minimums attached to the associated spaces.
Why Las Vegas?
Conrad: 3G Productions already has a base operation here and because the city is one of the largest event cities in the world, it was a natural fit for the Enclave Project. It allows us to capitalize on all our extensive resources and contacts and bring this expertise to new clients.
How do you plan to market Enclave against other facilities in the city?
Stearns: Heather Coldwell is Director of Meetings & Special Events for Enclave and she will be educating prospective clients to all the possibilities for events at Enclave that may not be available at other venues in Las Vegas. Our marketing focus places a heavy emphasis on the production value and expertise we bring to events of any size at an extremely competitive rate. Additionally, Enclave will offer key incentives such as free parking and free basic WI-FI for all groups. Enclave plans to work with various key industry partners to provide a diverse range of services from multiple caterers for more menu variety to specialized services such as beverage experts meaning sommeliers and mixologists who can help coordinate new elements for events.
