Vancouver Convention Center Information
Vancouver Convention and
Exhibition Centre
The sleek, modern Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre is British Columbia’s flagship convention facility. Located on the waterfront in downtown Vancouver, the centre is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Apex Award for “World’s Best Convention Center” in 2002. Its trademark Five Sails add to the centre’s cosmopolitan flair, set against the beautiful backdrop of the North Shore Mountains.
The centre has more than 150,000 total square feet of exhibition, ballroom and meeting space. The centre’s 133,000 square feet of flexible function space spans two levels, including a soaring atrium lobby and light-filled, glass-enclosed concourse. The convention level boasts 91,000 square feet of column-free exhibition space and a 17,000-square-foot ballroom, both of which can be divided into three spaces. The centre’s Parkview Terrace includes a private patio with spectacular harbor views.
The demand for meeting and convention space in Vancouver has risen over the past several years. To accommodate Vancouver’s convention boom, and in preparation for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre is currently building a connected facility immediately adjacent to the existing centre. The west centre, scheduled to open in early 2009, will triple the existing meeting, exhibit and function space to a total of nearly 500,000 square feet. The current centre will continue to fully operate during and after the $800 million expansion. The new centre will increase total exhibit space to 316,225 square feet, total meeting space to 86,466 square feet and total ballroom space to 72,800 square feet. The existing centre’s 20 meeting rooms, ranging in size from 500 square feet to 6,500 square feet, will be augmented by 52 additional meetings rooms in the new centre. Additionally, a new adjacent hotel will add 400 rooms to the already existing 1,000 rooms connected to Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. After the expansion is completed, it will offer a total of 750 parking spots in an indoor attached lot. The combined facility will allow for simultaneous events to be held with separate access and function space.
The Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre has an award-winning environmental policy covering recycling, food and beverage management and energy conservation. The centre recycles nearly half of the total volume of waste generated and donates leftover food to local charities. The new centre wing will boast a six-acre living roof, complete with a variety of 400,000 indigenous plants, seawater heating and cooling, on-site water treatment and a fish habitat built into the foundation in order to enhance marine life.
The centre’s services and amenities are far-reaching and convenient, including world-class cuisine made with local, fresh ingredients, a remarkably sophisticated fiber optic network, making all areas capable of high-speed Internet access, global broadcasting, webcasting, video conferencing and real-time video transmission. It also offers an on-site warehouse of audio-visual inventory, full-service specialty lighting and rigging, specialized customs brokerage and goods transportation services and expert security capabilities.
Situated only 20 miles from Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport, the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre is within Vancouver’s extensive public transportation network and walking distance of more than 13,000 hotel rooms. The centre has hosted such high-profile events as the World Buddhist Convention, World Culinary Arts Festival, 1993 Clinton-Yeltsin Summit and the XI International Conference on AIDS. The centre will also serve as the broadcast and media center for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6C 3C1
Phone: 604-689-8232
Other convention centers in the Vancouver region
British Columbia Institute of Technology
555 Seymour StreetVancouver, BC
Canada V68 3H6
Phone: 604-431-4997
Total Meeting Sq Ft – 6,000
Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University
580 West Hastings StreetVancouver, BC
Canada V6B 1L6
Phone: 778-782-5800
Total Meeting Sq Ft – 3,674
