(NYSE: MGM) - Among the 200 minority-owned firms that helped build CityCenter were a Detroit-based general contractor who expanded his business to Las Vegas after auto industry contracts dried up, a local electrical supply firm that nearly doubled in size, and a drug screening company that was specifically born out of the project.
From building architecture and design, LEED consulting, engineering, to information technology and waste removal, minority-owned firms were involved in virtually every major discipline employed in the development.
In all, MGM MIRAGE and Perini Building Company spent more than $700 million in construction and design contracts with minority-owned firms throughout the five-year CityCenter project.
"As part of our Company's Diversity Initiative, we undertook an aggressive approach to ensure that minority-owned firms had maximum opportunity to participate in the project," said Bobby Baldwin, president and CEO of CityCenter. "In many cases, these contractors increased the size of their firms as well as their bonding capacity, and gained a wealth of valuable experience in the process."
The Construction Diversity team, consisting of MGM MIRAGE and Perini representatives, was focused exclusively on promoting significant MWDBE participation in the CityCenter project, finding avenues for greater participation by MWDBE firms, and contributing to the development of greater capacity, in both expertise and experience, of MWDBEs.
Due to the enormous scope of the project and its extensive bidding opportunities, CityCenter assigned eight people to the team.
The team encouraged joint ventures and mentoring partnerships between minority-owned and larger firms and initiated contract "unbundling" - where contracts were divided into smaller portions to accommodate the more limited resources of companies that were less experienced on larger projects.
The team also created a two-day training program entitled "Construction and Business Management Training Program" for firms that were brought on board at CityCenter. The program focused on technical, business and management essentials in the construction industry, enabling the participants to strengthen their business and leadership skills, increase their project management proficiency and maximize their potential for project success.
"For many of these companies, CityCenter represented the business growth opportunity of a lifetime," said Perini Building Company Vice Chairman Dick Rizzo. "We sought out the most qualified local firms, then used our Company's national contacts to cast our net far and wide across the United States to identify the most qualified minority and women-owned firms. As a result, CityCenter had the highest proportion of minority representation in Perini's history."
About CityCenter
CityCenter is an unprecedented urban metropolis on 67 acres between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. CityCenter is a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM) and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World. CityCenter features ARIA, a 61-story, 4,004-room gaming resort; luxury non-gaming hotels including Las Vegas' first Mandarin Oriental and Vdara Hotel & Spa; Veer Towers, the development's only strictly residential buildings; and Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers include approximately 2,400 residences total. Additionally, The Harmon, a 400-room luxury boutique hotel, is slated to open at CityCenter in late 2010. CityCenter also features a resident Cirque du Soleil production celebrating the timeless musical legacy of Elvis Presley; and an unparalleled Fine Art Collection with works by acclaimed artists including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Nancy Rubins, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, among others. CityCenter is a design collaboration between MGM MIRAGE and eight internationally acclaimed architectural firms including Pelli Clarke Pelli, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Helmut Jahn, RV Architecture LLC led by Rafael Vinoly, Foster + Partners*, Studio Daniel Libeskind*, David Rockwell and Rockwell Group, and Gensler. At the forefront of sustainability, CityCenter is one of the world's largest green developments. ARIA, Vdara, Crystals, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers all have received LEED® Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. This marks the highest LEED achievement for any hotel, retail district or residential development in Las Vegas. The Harmon also is pursuing LEED certification. For more information about CityCenter, please visit www.citycenter.com.
About Perini Building Company
Perini Building Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tutor Perini Corporation (NYSE: TPC). Perini Building Company is the largest builder of hospitality and gaming resorts and one of the largest construction companies in the country. Professional services offered are construction management, general contracting, preconstruction, post construction, and design/build. In addition to gaming and hospitality, other major market segments include transportation and sports and entertainment venues. For more information, visit www.tutorperini.com.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: ymonet@mgmmirage.com
SOURCE: MGM MIRAGE
CONTACT: Yvette Monet of MGM MIRAGE Public Affairs, +1-702-650-6942,
ymonet@mgmmirage.com; or Lesley Pittman of Perini Building Company,
+1-702-524-5054, lesley@sierrastrategies.net
Web Site: http://www.citycenter.com/
http://www.tutorperini.com/