It's been home to trade shows, exhibitions and fairs, but CTV News has learned the Province of Nova Scotia will cease operations at Exhibition Park in November.
The operator of the venue, Trade Centre Limited., has been waiting for word from the province since submitting an overview of the required maintenance.
“Moving into another winter, we were afraid that with the condition of this structure and the need for repairs, that is in an unsafe condition to continue operation through another winter,” said John O’Connor, the executive director of major infrastructure projects for the province.
Almost a year ago, an assessment of the building found a number of serious deficiencies, including the condition of the roof and some of the electrical infrastructure. The assessment suggested it would cost $3 million to address those immediate concerns, and found an additional $6 million worth of upgrades that should be done.
Exhibition Park is 112 acres and has 150,000 square feet of building space. The venue’s appraised value is between $5 million and $6 million.
Based on an engineering report, operations were slated to cease on June 15. But because some repairs were made and a monitoring program was put in place, the province is able to keep using the venue until November.
Even before the decision was widely known, the phone at the Halifax Forum has been ringing,
“We've had inquiries I would bet from every major tenant out there, who are concerned that they don't have contracts for 2016 and are looking for an alternative venue,” said Al Driscoll, the Forum’s general manager.
Driscoll says one group has already booked their multi-purpose room, and they are in negotiations with a second group. But many of the events that take place at Exhibition Park are large, and would need to scale down to fit in a venue like the Forum.
The Forum also has a number of bookings already made for this winter.
“The board met a week ago Wednesday, (and) Exhibition Park was one of the items on the agenda,” Driscoll said. “And a motion was passed where we would honour all our contracts with our existing tenants and we would not inconvenience our regular ice tenants.”
Robb Cusack is the general manager of an RV dealership that holds RV shows at Exhibition Park once or twice a year. He says the shows are important to get new inventory in front of a crowd during the winter.
“I don't know how it’s going to happen, what's going to happen now,” Cusack said. “But I'll tell you what, there's a need in the community for a venue of some sort that we can get in and showcase - not only RVs, but every option out there that people are interested in showcasing.”
O’Connor says Exhibition Park could be sold.
“There’s some interest already been expressed, initial interest expressed by some of the users, and the Halifax municipality has already expressed an interest in the property,” O’Connor said.
He says those discussions will begin right away.
The province had planned to cease operations at Exhibition Park after the opening of the Nova Centre in 2017.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jacqueline Foster
