County may take $1M in wedding license money from LVCVA

The Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority could lose a $1 million-per-year contract with Clark County to promote wedding tourism.

County commissioners on Tuesday will consider ending an agreement in place since May 2016 that gives the LVCVA $14 for every marriage license sold by the county.

County Clerk Lynn Goya wants those dollars, which totaled nearly $1.1 million last year, to go to her office instead. Goya said she can make the money go further by spending it on promotions that attract international media attention, such as a pop-up marriage license bureau that opened at McCarran International Airport for Valentine’s Day or offering free wedding services to military members on Veterans Day weekend.

“You have a lot more reach if you can capitalize on those kind of things,” she said. “It’s not really a big budget if you’re doing paid advertising since it’s a worldwide market, but it’s a substantial budget for public relations.”

Las Vegas markets itself as the “Wedding Capital of the World” and more than 10,000 local jobs depend on wedding tourism, Goya said. But the number of marriage licenses issued each year has been steadily dropping. About 78,000 licenses were issued last year, down from a peak of 128,000 in 2004.

LVCVA spokesman Jeremy Handel wrote in an email that his agency worked with Goya’s office to create its marketing program. He did not say whether the agency would ask the commission to continue the funding.

“The LVCVA is happy to continue working with the County on this program if that is the desire of the Commission,” he wrote.

Other business

County commissioners will also receive information a number of other items at their Tuesday meeting.

They are set to discuss whether to provide more funding to the WestCare addiction treatment facility, how best to spend county monies on parks and what should be done to curb homelessness.

Commissioners will also introduce two ordinances at the meeting, which could come back as soon as June 5 for a ratification vote.

The new laws include the Metropolitan Police Department’s requested ban of certain items at protests and demonstrations. The list includes baseball bats, torches and other items that can be used as weapons.

Another law would forbid pet stores that open after June 30 from selling dogs, cats, rabbits or potbellied pigs. Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani believes the measure will reduce the local market for animals raised in mass breeding facilities.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.