HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia's minister of business says the province would be open to the possibility of a public-private partnership for Exhibition Park.
The government announced Thursday it plans to divest the facility just outside Halifax, after the unusually harsh winter left it in need of an estimated $9 million in repairs and upgrades.
Mark Furey said the 102,000-sq. ft. venue isn't worth that investment for the government.
"What I would hope is that business would see an opportunity to invest in that property themselves, and use it for whatever purpose they deem fit," Furey said.
A spokeswoman for Master Promotions, a company that holds five events at the facility every year, said company officials are hoping for a public-private partnership to keep Exhibition Park in operation.
Moira Pellerine, manager of marketing and operations, said the president of the company has expressed an interest in contributing private funding depending how negotiations go with the government.
However, Pellerine said the company's first priority is finding a solution for the 2016 trade show season.
"If exhibition park does not stay open for the 2016, some way or another, with government working with a private partner, we see the industry sort of collapsing," she said.
The government has suggested holding such events in a different venue in the Halifax area, but Pellerine said Master Promotions doesn't consider that to be an option.
"We need a minimum of 100,000 square feet, and no building in Nova Scotia other than Exhibition Park can accommodate that," she said.
Events that have taken place at the facility in the past include RV and boat shows, home shows and the annual Maritime Fall Fair.
Pellerine said the closure of Exhibition Park would make Nova Scotia the only province without a major show facility.
