THE EVE OF CONSTRUCTION:
Convention centre set for expansion in St. John’s

A planned $45-million expansion to the St. John’s Convention Centre should help the city compete for bigger and more lucrative events, according to proponents of the recently-announced project.

“We believe the expansion of the St. John’s Convention Centre is critical to compete in the highly competitive convention market and ensure St. John’s remains a destination of choice for local, regional, national and international meetings and conventions,” St. John’s Mayor Dennis O’Keefe said.

The province, feds and city will each chip in $15 million to fund the initiative. Officials said the convention centre’s current setup is too small — or inappropriately configured — for many conventions the city might otherwise attract. They said expansion of the facility is expected to double the number of large meetings and conventions the centre holds each year.

The St. John’s announcement follows similar ones across the region. O’Keefe said the local expansion will help keep the Newfoundland and Labrador capital on a level playing field with other cities.

“Approximately $35 million is invested in the city as a result of meetings and conventions on an annual basis,” O’Keefe noted. “The economic benefits the city and local businesses receive from these events (are) substantial. We are a very popular destination for meetings and conventions because of our unique culture, heritage and natural environment, but as convention centres in the other three Atlantic provinces are already undergoing expansions it is critical that we stay competitive to attract this business to our region.”

The project is expected to take five years to complete. When it’s finished, useable space in the facility will more than double.