But 21 centres being built in the U.S.; 36 being remodeled
John Bermingham
Province
In this view from Stanley Park, the dark angular shape of the new $883-million convention centre changes the skyline of Vancouver. Photograph by : Jon Murray, The Province
The man hired six months ago to turn a dollar from the expanded Vancouver Convention Centre said bookings have increased 116 per cent since last year.
But Warren Buckley, president and CEO of PavCo, the Crown corporation that runs the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, added that competition for the convention dollar is getting tougher.
Buckley told a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon Friday that the expanded convention centre will rank among the Top 5 in the world.
“What you have here is something very special,” said Buckley. “You already have the infrastructure built. You already have a very special location. Vancouver is easy to get to. Vancouver is attractive. I think it’s a winning formula.”
Buckley said the spectacular setting will give Vancouver an edge over stiff global competition.
The new convention centre will have 500,000 square feet of meeting space, and includes a green roof and a ballroom with glass walls. Perched over water, the vista takes in the North Shore mountains in an ecologically sensitive setting.
“This is unparalleled,” he said. “This doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.”
There are 21 new convention centres also being built in the U.S., along with 36 undergoing renovation. And in China, 100 convention centres are under construction.
Buckley said the market can’t sustain so many convention centres chasing the same buck.
Buckley said Vancouver should be looking to Europe for new customers, where large international bodies are based, and not rely on U.S. business.
“They’re larger numbers. They spend more. They stay longer. And they’re prepared to cross borders,” he said.
Buckley said conventions are almost fully booked in 2010, and 2011 will be “the best convention year Vancouver has ever had.”
According to Tourism Vancouver, there are 36 definite bookings for citywide conventions up to 2012, and 37 tentative.
Buckley said that even if convention centres are 80-per-cent full, they can still lose money.
“My goal is to make sure there’s a fine balance between the level of occupancy, and the bottom line,” he said. “You can fill that place every day with events that don’t drive economic dollars.”
Buckley said the convention centre won’t be able to pay for its $883-million cost — most of it borne by taxpayers — for years.
Nearly $400 million in overruns at the convention centre have almost doubled the total cost since the ground was broken in 2004.
“It’s not unusual for a facility to cost this much money,” said Buckley. “The cost is clearly in line with what I think other international projects are [costing].”
Buckley said the Vancouver convention centre will be ready in March 2009, and will hold its first conference in mid-April.
In October next year, the venue will be handed over to Vancouver 2010 for the Olympics, where it will be used as the main media centre, and returned in March 2010.
© The Vancouver Province 2008