Expanding For Success...
The Vision for an Expanded Winnipeg Convention Centre
For more information on the expansion of the Winnipeg Convention Centre, please email us at
The future of the Winnipeg Convention Centre is at a crossroads. The conclusions of the original PKF Consulting report have been validated by the most recent report tabled by McMahon Consulting. One can easily conclude from all the statistics and information, along with continuing announcements of new convention centre construction in Canada that if a decision is made to maintain the current configuration of the Winnipeg Convention Centre, its market position will erode, as competitors across Canada renovate and expand.
Notwithstanding additional subsidization in the form of operating grants from the
Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg which is likely to be required, it will
also lead to a reduction in visitors attracted by events formally hosted by the Winnipeg
Convention Centre. As event driven visits decrease, the three levels of government
can expect to see a drop in taxation revenue as economic activity falls. The reduction
of economic activity will impact all businesses that benefit from event-driven activities
such as hotels, taxis, restaurants and the airport.
The alternative vision is for an expanded Winnipeg Convention Centre. This vision
creates a dynamic new reality, not just for the convention centre, but for an important
step in the revitalization of our downtown core, which does play a significant part in
driving the economic engine of this great city forward. With an expanded convention
centre, Winnipeg will regain its position as a premier Tier Two convention facility in
North America, capable of offering clients and stakeholders from throughout North
America a world class facility in a dynamic city centre, which is itself situated at the
geographical centre of Canada.
The opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights as a National Museum and
international attraction extends our horizons for attracting potential major conferences
far beyond our current perceived boundaries. With a construction strategy that mirrors
that of the new Museum with both attractions opening within a year of each other, an
expanded Winnipeg Convention Centre will be in a position to attract new groups and
conventions to the city drawn by this unique institution housed in an iconic-building
that can be a convention magnet unto itself.
It will also open the door to bring back the conventions which were once a mainstay,
filling the city with delegates during the usually quieter convention season during the
summer period, beyond the traditional spring and fall support favoured by other larger
Canadian and American associations.
A decision to expand the Winnipeg Convention Centre will be comparable to the
decision made to build a Convention Centre in the seventies. That decision proved
to be farsighted in terms of the legacy of development, business, and economic
activity created by the construction of Canada’s first free-standing purpose-built
Convention Centre.
The proposed Winnipeg Convention Centre expansion will not only rejuvenate its
status as an economic catalyst in downtown Winnipeg, but it will also attract additional
tourists to the downtown area, contribute to further spending and employment
opportunities in Winnipeg and provide tax revenue for all three levels of government.
The expansion of the Winnipeg Convention Centre will also contribute to additional
induced impacts that are realized as tourism dollars are spent and re-spent by those
employed in the tourism industry and by the people with whom they do business.
The proposed expansion is a cost-effective investment that shows a substantial return
on investment for governments and for the economy of the City of Winnipeg and
the Province of Manitoba. Without expansion the Winnipeg Convention Centre will
see its market position erode with a resultant decrease in events, out-of-town visitors,
economic activity and tax revenues.
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Architectural Drawings:
Photos:
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