VCEC Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

Vancouver, BC (July 4, 2007) – The Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (VCEC) is celebrating two decades of hosting meetings, conventions and exhibitions – a combined total of 7,597 events and more than $3.8 billion in estimated economic impact for British Columbia.

“Over the past two decades the VCEC has become a world leader in hosting major meetings, conventions, and exhibitions and we are committed to continuing to create economic and community benefits for British Columbia,” said Barbara Maple, VCEC President.

Maple added: “The major Centre expansion now underway would simply not have happened without the tremendous success that the facility has enjoyed in the diversity of markets we have pursued over the past 20 years. Because of expansion we’ll be able to attract an even larger number of delegates to BC and host events we had to turn away in the past due to lack of available space or dates.”

“This landmark facility has been a large part of British Columbia’s evolution from Expo ’86 all the way to where we are today,” said the Honourable Stan Hagen, Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts. “As we stand on the brink of one of the most exciting periods in our province’s history, it’s set to again play a pivotal role in the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and subsequently lead us into a new era of convention business as we take advantage of the profile and capabilities that 2010 will generate. It’s a fitting time to reflect on some of the achievements of the VCEC that helped to bring this all about.”

Hosting more than 300 events per year, the VCEC welcomes delegates from all over the world and in 2002 was named “World’s Best Convention Centre” as the recipient of the International AIPC Apex Award from the Brussels-based International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC). Its current size – 133,000 square feet – makes the VCEC a small facility relative to many of competitors. However, its downtown, waterfront location and recognized service quality give it a big advantage when bidding for business.

“The demands of the market have enabled us to operate at effective capacity for many years,” said Maple. “However, our high profile created pent-up demand which we’ll now be able to fulfill. As a result, we see huge new business potential for the next 20 years with a much more competitive facility to sell.”

About the VCEC
Since opening in 1987, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre has been British Columbia’s flagship convention facility. In fiscal year 2007, the VCEC hosted 350 events and 745,000 delegate days and generated more than $240 million in economic impact for the province of B.C. When its major expansion completes, the VCEC will offer a combined total of nearly 500,000 square feet of function space and will serve as the Main Media Centre for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.

-30-