Contractors expanding the Las Vegas Convention Center shut down the site for worker anti-bias training, and put up a $50,000 reward for information, after racist graffiti was found at the office of an African-American foreman.
The joint venture of Turner Construction, a subsidiary of German contractor Hochtief, and Las Vegas-headquartered Martin-Harris Construction, have launched an internal investigation and are working with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.
The government agency overseeing the project, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), expressed outrage at the discovery of "racially-motivated damage".
Turner Construction told GCR it suspended work on 26 August to give all workers anti-bias training. Work on the nearly finished centre resumed the next day.
The LVCVA praised the joint venture for its quick action. The cash reward is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible.
"The LVCVA is outraged and condemns this deplorable act as there’s absolutely no place for racism in our community," it said.
"We appreciate Turner Martin-Harris offering a sizeable reward for credible information that leads to identifying the person(s) responsible and resolving this unacceptable act."
It urged anyone with information to contact police.
Turner Construction said: "Turner has zero tolerance for racism and hate. We suspended work to send a message about how serious we take this behaviour."
Last month, work was halted at another Turner Construction site, the Facebook data centre in New Albany, Ohio, after racist graffiti was discovered.
The expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center will add 1.4 million sq ft of space, 600,000 sq ft of which will be leasable exhibit space.
The expansion, which is 93% complete as of the 1st September 2020, will include a main entrance, grand lobby, meeting rooms, pre-function space and support areas.
The centre was built in 1959 and is the world’s largest single-level convention centre. It has been expanded four times since opening.
Image: A render of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s expansion (LVCVA)
Comments
Comments are closed.
How awful. Good to see the company react strongly to this. So many times instances can be hushed up. Let’s hope it’s not another of these self inflicted pity crimes.