The World Market Center was conceived by Shawn Samson and Jack Kashani,[5][6] both of Los Angeles-based Furniture Mart Enterprises.

[22][23] Furniture Mart Enterprises broke ground on the project on March 21, 2003,[8] with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company as general contractor.

[30][31][32] The World Market Center's early success had a negative impact on the San Francisco Mart,[33] while High Point remained a viable competitor.

[36] New expansion plans for the market were announced several months prior to its opening, the final goal being a $2 billion, eight-building complex featuring 12 million square feet (1,100,000 m2), with completion expected by 2015.

[47][48][49] Blackstone Group later partnered with Fireside Investments to purchase IMC,[50][51] a deal that was completed on September 26, 2017.

[52][53] The closure of Cashman Center in 2017 left downtown Las Vegas with only 106,000 sq ft (9,800 m2) of convention space, spread across 10 different resorts.

In 2018, IMC proposed an addition to the World Market Center that would add to downtown's convention space.

[56] The addition, known as the Expo at World Market Center building, began construction in August 2019.

It was launched as a West Coast rival to the twice-yearly International Home Furnishings Market in High Point.

[77] When not hosting trade shows, the first two floors of Building A are open to the public as the Las Vegas Design Center, featuring numerous showrooms.

[80][81] Media related to World Market Center Las Vegas at Wikimedia Commons