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When I was a younger man, I didn’t fully appreciate why New Year’s Day was something to be celebrated. After all, to my inexperienced brain, nothing really changed with the flipping of the calendar page, except that I’d have to retrain myself to write a new year on my checks. Sure, I enjoyed the chance to celebrate with friends, but the larger meaning was lost on me. As I’ve grown older (and hopefully wiser) my perspective has changed. I now see it as an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months, to put them in a perspective one only gets with the benefit of hindsight, and to look forward to the future armed with the lessons learned from experience. The last two years, with their unprecedented challenges and triumphs, have only amplified my appreciation of this annual event.
As we say goodbye to 2021 and welcome 2022, we find ourselves dealing with different versions of some familiar challenges. Despite this, I feel very hopeful and optimistic about our community and what 2022 and beyond hold for Southern Nevada. The reasons for this can be summarized in three attributes of Las Vegas that 2021 clearly highlighted: Resilient, Innovative and Aspirational.
The resilience our community exhibited in 2021 is hard to argue. In March 2020, the unimaginable happened and the entire Strip corridor closed its doors to all visitors. Nearly every in-person event was canceled, the economic engine of our city was shut down, and the economic shock burdened us with the highest unemployment in the country. We tentatively reopened later that year and entered 2021 with optimism that things would return to “normal.”
We all know this didn’t happen, at least as we had initially hoped, but Las Vegas adapted to the reality of the situation and not only survived, but in many ways flourished. We attracted tourists who were hungry to travel and experience what only we can offer, leading to record gaming revenues and a packed Strip on many weekends. While other communities were still trying to find their way, Las Vegas’ travel and tourism industry rehired staff and welcomed millions of visitors. The resilience we demonstrated in 2021 shines a bright light on the fact that Las Vegas will continue to find ways to succeed despite whatever the world throws at us.
Our city has always been incredibly innovative – serving as an example to the world – and in 2021 this spirit of innovation paid huge dividends. Take Allegiant Airlines, for example: our own hometown airline whose unique business model brings a significant volume of visitors to our city each year from non-major markets throughout the U.S. At a time when other airlines were challenged by significant declines in business travel, Allegiant continued to be successful through their innovative approach. As a banker, I have the privilege of getting an up-close-and-personal view of many businesses here, and Allegiant is just one example of the amazing companies in our community that consistently innovate and create value for our economy.
We’ve been blessed by visionary and aspirational leaders in Las Vegas, and in 2021 the groundwork they laid fueled tremendous success. One weekend comes to mind that highlights this: December 3-5, 2021. Over the course of three days, we saw the PAC 12 Championship Game played at Allegiant Stadium in front of over 56,000 fans, three nights of National Finals Rodeo at a packed Thomas & Mack Arena, a sold-out Allegiant Stadium for a Raiders home game, a sold-out T-Mobile Arena for a Vegas Golden Knights game, and numerous concerts and events up and down the Strip. As I reflect on the economic impact of all this, I can’t help but think of the courage and leadership behind this success. And also the naysayers who resisted their efforts: “Las Vegas isn’t big enough to support the NFL…Hockey will never work in the desert…Taxpayer-funded stadiums don’t work…”
I hope you all share my optimism for 2022. We will have challenges to overcome – that is a certainty. But our community has demonstrated time and again that not only do we overcome our challenges, even when they may seem insurmountable, we adapt, innovate and aspire in ways that other cities can only dream about.
Members of the editorial and news staff of the Las Vegas Review-Journal were not involved in the creation of this content.