What is INNovation Village?
INNovation Village is envisioned as a "campus within a campus" at
the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) featuring a unique mix of
academic and hospitality venues that will educate the next generation
of industry leaders.
INNovation Village will operate commercial "for profit" hospitality
facilities with all the amenities found on the Las Vegas strip and offer
a "living laboratory" to corporations looking for unbiased,
yet commercially valid research. In essence, it will bridge the gap between
the academic world and the hospitality world in conducting research on
new products, services and technology.
What is the significance of the gift from the Harrah's Foundation?
The $30 million gift given by the Harrah's Foundation is a key
piece of funding for the construction of the William F. Harrah College
of Hotel Administration academic building at INNovation Village. The
100,000 square-foot building will serve as the cornerstone of the INNovation
Village project.
The gift — announced Sept. 10, 2007 — provides nearly 50
percent of the total funding needed for the academic building: $25 million
is designated for construction costs and $5 million for related research,
recruitment and training initiatives ($750,000 a year for five years
for an endowment; $250,000 a year for five years available to spend on
those same initiatives).
What are the goals of INNovation Village?
To become the leader worldwide for hospitality-industry education and
research and significantly enhance the already high reputations of
the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration and the International
Gaming Institute at UNLV.
What are the benefits of INNovation Village?
INNovation Village will enable UNLV to attract the best and brightest
faculty and students interested in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Each will benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities and educational
opportunities. Additionally, the hospitality industry will have access
to UNLV graduates with key knowledge and skills. In many cases, the
graduates will have been exposed to new technology prior to its introduction
into the marketplace.
Where will INNovation Village be built?
INNovation Village will be constructed on 6.8 acres of land located on
the UNLV Maryland Parkway campus at the southeast corner of Flamingo
Road and Swenson Street. Development of the INNovation Village project
will include the following projects, for which groundbreaking dates
have not yet been determined:
- A 200-300 room, fully functioning hotel.
- An executive conference
center.
- A 100,000 square-foot academic building capable of serving 4,000
students and 100 faculty members. The building will include classroom
space, offices, food and nutrition science labs, teaching kitchens,
a gaming laboratory, and dedicated interdisciplinary research space
linked to the hotel, conference center and restaurant.
- Renovation and
adaptive reuse of the existing 35,000 square-foot Stan Fulton Building
that currently houses the International Gaming Institute.
- A parking
structure.
Who will supply the balance of funding for INNovation Village?
The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents submitted a funding
request to the Nevada State Legislature earlier for the balance of
the construction costs, but no funds were available at that time. The
funding request will be a top priority in the next legislative session,
and UNLV is hopeful that the state will support the project now that
the initial private money has been graciously donated by the Harrah's
Foundation.
What companies are interested in conducting research at INNovation Village?
Some of the world's finest technology companies, including Microsoft,
Hewlett-Packard, Bose, Sony, MICROS, and InfoGenesis have already expressed
interest.
