Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre – 20 Facts for 20 Years!

1. In 20 Years at the VCEC: 7,597 events, 11.5 million delegate days, and $3.8 billion in economic impact to BC.

2. Following Expo 86, the Canada Pavilion was reconfigured and re-opened on July 4, 1987 as the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre. It was renamed the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre in the 1990s to better reflect its role.

3. First International Event: The World Culinary Arts Festival was held just days after the VCEC opened its doors.

4. Smallest Event: Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, and Bill Clinton, President of the United States, held a two-person Summit in 1993.

5. Largest Event: Aga Khan “Visit 2005” with more than 40,000 attendees. The centre also hosted the Aga Khan in 1992.

6. Most Creative Configuration: To accommodate 12,000 attendees, VCEC staff converted part of the cruise ship level into function space for the World Dental Congress in 1994.

7. Repeat Business: Six clients have held 20 consecutive events at the VCEC including the CanWest Horticultural Show, Truck Loggers Association of BC, Pacific Dental Conference, Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, and the Circle Craft Christmas Market.

8. 6.2 million guests have been served at VCEC since 1987 which amounts to the entire BC population visiting the facility 1.5 times.

9. In 20 years, the VCEC has spent more than $36 million with local food and beverage purveyors to provide products for chefs to create the facility’s menus from scratch.

10. 5.8 million cups of coffee and 30,000 cases of wine have been consumed in the last 20 years.

11. The VCEC received the prestigious International APEX Award for “World’s Best Convention Centre” in 2002.

12. The existing VCEC offers 133,000 square feet of function space, but expansion will triple its size to nearly 500,000 square feet.

13. A glass-enclosed connector will seamlessly integrate VCEC East (existing facility) with VCEC West (expansion facility).

14. The entire facility will serve as the Main Media Centre for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.

15. The new building (VCEC West) is 132 feet high and 40% is built over water.

16. Building the expansion facility requires four acres of structural glass, 20,000 tons of structural steel, 6,700 tons of rebar and 26,000 cubic metres of concrete.

17. Post-expansion, the entire area will cover four city blocks (1.1 million square feet) and will include a two acre public plaza and 83,000 square feet of restaurants, retail, and attractions.

18. Built for sustainable design, the facility will feature seawater heating and cooling, on-site water treatment, grey and black water recycling systems, and energy conservation strategies to including natural lighting and ventilation.

19. The expansion’s unique marine habitat design won the 2006 Environmental Concept Award.

20. Its six acre living roof – equal to 15 hockey rinks! – will consist of 400,000 indigenous plants and will contain drainage and water recovery systems.