With six months still to go before it’s scheduled to open, the Ottawa Convention Centre has already lined up 80 events over the next four years.
That’s going to have a huge impact on the city, said OCC chair Jim Durrell. Tax revenue alone is expected to generate over $130 million for the provincial and federal government, he said.
Prior to demolishing the old building, Durrell said they only had 15 conventions booked over the same time.
Ottawa is home to over 165 national associations, but the largest 15 per cent could never host a convention here because there were no venues.
Stats
The new Ottawa Convention Centre cost at total of $180 million. This includes design, engineering, legal services and state-of-the-art information communication technology.
- Space The centre will have over 400,000 sq. ft. of floor space, more than double the old building.
- Room There will be 24 meeting rooms on the first two floors, ranging in size from 1,000 to 24,000 sq. ft.
