The UNLV School of Architecture will host a panel discussion featuring three of the nation's foremost redevelopment experts entitled "Loving Las Vegas" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 24 in Artemus Ham Concert Hall on the UNLV campus. A reception will precede the event at 6 p.m. Both the reception and panel discussion are free and open to the public.

Funded by a Las Vegas Centennial Celebration Education Grant, the discussion will address several topics relevant to Las Vegas' architectural evolution, including adaptive reuse in the historic downtown Los Angeles business corridor and what Las Vegas can learn from it; efforts to revitalize downtown Los Angeles and the economic potential of similar investments in Las Vegas; and a possible vision for Las Vegas' future.

UNLV School of Architecture director Michael Kroelinger will moderate the discussion. Guest speakers will be Wade Killefer, a principal with Killefer Flammang Architects which specializes in public buildings and affordable housing and has designed more than 6,000 residential units in Southern California, many of which are in historic buildings; Edward Roski, chairman and chief executive officer of one of the oldest and largest privately held real estate companies in the U.S., as well as co-owner of the Los Angeles Kings and Lakers, who played a key role in the development of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles; and Anthony Marnell, chairman and owner of Marnell Corrao Associates - the company responsible for the design and building of some of Nevada's oldest and fastest growing hotel/casino companies, such as MGM/Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment, Caesars Palace, the Boyd Group, and Wynn Resorts. Marnell also is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Rio Hotel & Casino, Inc.

During the reception, attendees are encouraged to view the teaser show located in the Artemus Ham Hall lobby of "Trading Spaces," an art exhibit that celebrates Las Vegas' 100 th birthday. The show, curated by art and architecture history professor Robert Tracy, will be featured in the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery on the UNLV campus beginning May 15.

For more information on "Loving Las Vegas," please call 895-3031.