RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg

The RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg (formerly the Winnipeg Convention Centre) is a major meeting and convention centre located in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg
RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg
LocationWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Coordinates49.8891187°N 97.1447611°W / 49.8891187; -97.1447611
OwnerConvention Centre Corporation
Opened1975
Expanded2015
Construction cost
C$25 million[1]
($122 million in 2021 dollars)[2]
Former names
Winnipeg Convention Centre (1975–2013)
Theatre seating
300-9,000
Enclosed space
 • Total space260,000 sq ft (24,000 m2)
 • Exhibit hall floor131,056 sq ft (12,175.5 m2)[3]
 • Breakout/meeting50,784 sq ft (4,718.0 m2)[3]
 • Ballroom21,160 sq ft (1,966 m2)[3]
Parking729 spaces[4]
Website
wcc.mb.ca

It has five levels including indoor parking for 729 vehicles, and three levels of various meeting trade show space totalling 260,000 square feet (24,000 m2).[4][5] The main exhibit hall has 131,000 square feet (12,200 m2) of pillar-less space.[5]

The convention centre is connected to the Winnipeg Walkway system via an above-ground walkway connection crossing St. Mary Avenue and Hargrave Street, connecting the venue to the neighbouring Delta hotel, Cityplace, and Canada Life Centre.[6]

History

The convention centre was recommended as part of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (Metro) Downtown Development Plan of 1969.

Metro and the Province of Manitoba announced the $35-million Winnipeg Convention Centre on 10 September 1970. Always in opposition to metropolitan government, Mayor of Winnipeg Stephen Juba did not attend the announcing press conference.[7][8]

Winnipeg Convention Centre, 1974

Originally named the Winnipeg Convention Centre, the publicly-owned facility was built and opened in 1975. The building, designed by Canadian architect Isadore (Issie) Coop, of the Number Ten Architectural Group,[9] was among the first "purpose-built" convention centre of its kind built in Canada.[10]

Aside from trade shows and conventions, the Convention Centre has also been used as a sports venue and was home to the Winnipeg Cyclone basketball team from 1995 to 2001.

A $180-million expansion, completed between 2012 and 2015, roughly doubled the size of the facility, adding 131,000 square feet (12,200 m2) of exhibit space and underground parking.[11][12] In July 2013, the facility was rebranded as the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg after its naming rights were purchased by Royal Bank of Canada.[13][14] By 2017 the annual visitor count to the Winnipeg Convention Centre had increased by about 50,000 to 557,000 which was directly related to the WCC expansion.[15]

Beginning in January 2021, the facility began operating as a "super site" for COVID-19 vaccinations.[16]

Events

The Winnipeg Convention Centre hosts regularly scheduled annual events such as a New Years' Eve dinner and dance, a Christmas crafts show known as the "Signatures Handmade Market", the Mid-Canada Boat Show, the Manitoba RV Show and Sale, the Winnipeg Career Fair, the Home & Garden Show (formerly Home Expression Show), the Winnipeg Comicon Show, a Wedding Show.

In the 1970s it was the host venue for the Progressive Conservative (1976) and the Liberal (June 1984?) leadership conventions. The WCC was the site of the January 1983 PC party convention where Joe Clark decided to step down as leader.[17]

All provincial leadership conventions, except recent NDP, since 1975 have been held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

The convention centre has hosted pop culture events such as the anime convention Ai-Kon,[18] Central Canada Comic Con until 2019, and its spiritual successor Winnipeg Comiccon since 2021.[19] It will host the 15th North American Science Fiction Convention (Pemmi-Con) in 2023.[20]

References
  1. Pihichyn, Paul (January 15, 1975). "Splendor Marks Opening Of New Convention Centre". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg. pp. 1–2.
  2. 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  3. "Floor Plans". RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  4. "Parking". RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  5. "Venue". RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  6. "Downtown skywalk extension opens". CBC News. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  7. McMonagle, Duncan (September 10, 1970). "$50 million Downtown Plan Announced: Convention Centre And Hotels Proposed; Completion Scheduled In Early 1974". Winnipeg Free Press. pp. 1, 4.
  8. "$50 million building plan announced for city's centre: Should be finished by early 1974". The Winnipeg Tribune. September 10, 1970. p. 1.
  9. "Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Biography, Isadore Coop"
  10. Winnipeg, RBC Convention Centre. "About The Centre - RBC Convention Centre WinnipegRBC Convention Centre Winnipeg". www.wcc.mb.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  11. "Stuart Olson Dominion locked in to $147-M Convention Centre expansion". Winnipeg Sun. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  12. "Winnipeg Convention Centre Unveils Expansion Plan Design Funding possible thanks to government partnership". City of Winnipeg. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  13. "RBC buys naming rights for Winnipeg convention centre". CBC News. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  14. "Winnipeg convention centre shows off $180M expansion". CBC News. 12 November 2015.
  15. Pursaga, Joyanne (February 5, 2018). "Convention centre expansion paying off: President". The Winnipeg Sun.
  16. McGuckin, Amber (January 3, 2021). "RBC Convention Centre preparing for COVID-19 vaccinations". Global News.
  17. Goldstein, Tom; Doyle, Michael (January 29, 1983). "Clark quitting as PC chief". Winnipeg Free Press. pp. 1, 4.
  18. "Anime convention Ai-Kon returns after two-year absence". CTV News Winnipeg. 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  19. "Winnipeg Comiccon flying into town this fall after battling pandemic delays". CTV News Winnipeg. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  20. Ingenthron, Blair. "Glasgow and Winnipeg to Host 2023/2024 Science Fiction Conventions". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
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