New designs for BMO Centre expansion project unveiled
Posted Jun 10, 2020 9:22 am.
Last Updated Jun 10, 2020 9:24 am.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – We now know what the expansion to Calgary’s BMO Centre could look like.
The Calgary Stampede and the city’s Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) has unveiled the design for the expansion of the convention centre.
The expansion, valued at $500 million, will help modernize the facility and help bring major, international conventions to the city.
“Calgary’s citizens are world-renowned for their community spirit and their drive to achieve great things,” said Chair of the Stampede board Dana Peers.
“When complete in 2024, the expanded BMO Centre will provide Calgary and southern Alberta a significant platform for economic diversification through growth in both the convention and tourism industries.”
The new design comes after 12 months of collaboration with Stantec, Populous and S2 Architecture.
The expansion will feature over one million square feet of total floor space, including 350,000 square feet of exhibit space, and more than double its current rentable area.
The CLMC said this expansion will also be the catalyst for helping revitalizing Victoria Park and the city’s new entertainment district.
“This project defines an incredibly important phase in realizing the Calgary Stampede’s and CMLC’s longterm vision for east Victoria Park and Stampede Park,”, said CLMC president Kate Thompson.
“The mission shared by the whole BMO project team – Together we will design a world-class facility that celebrates Calgary, captures the Stampede Spirit, connects the city with the Rivers District and activates the site all year long, speaks to this commitment.”
Although the 2020 Calgary Stampede was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project is in line to be completed by June 2024.
“Despite the obvious challenges posed by COVID-19, we’ve continued to receive inquiries from interested conventions eager to book events when the building is complete and the heightened awareness of health and safety protocols has provided an excellent opportunity for the design team and our operations team to ensure the utmost standards in health and safety are in place when the building opens,” said Stampede CEO Warren Connell.
Construction on Hall F of the centre is expected to be completed later this month with demolishing of existing structures to start in the fall.
Crews expect to break ground on the new expansion next year.
