Nearly five years after ground was broken on Halifax’s new convention centre, a date has finally been set for its official opening.
The 1 million square foot Halifax Convention Centre will open its doors on Dec. 15, with its first client event – the Canadian Junior Weightlifting Championships – set for Jan. 20.
The facility will host a welcome week with a series of community events, including public tours, from Jan. 12-24.
There are 90 events booked at the convention centre in 2018. The events are expected to bring in an estimated 75,000 delegates and more than $50 million to the province.
"It's a terrific opportunity for tourism,” says Darlene Grant-Fiander of Tourism Nova Scotia. “When you think that we're probably going to hit $2.7 billion of revenue for the province this year, and to have this asset opening for international events, it's pretty significant."
Tuesday’s announcement also comes as welcome relief to several local business owners, who say the multiple delays and ongoing construction severely impacted their businesses' bottom line.
"It's been a long five years and we've probably lost about 35 per cent of our business, which really hurts,” says restaurant owner Lil MacPherson. “It took a lot of managing to actually stay on course and stay open. A lot of people haven't stayed open and that's unfortunate."
The convention centre is the largest integrated development project in Nova Scotia’s history, with three levels of government sharing the funding, totaling $169.2 million.
Argyle Developments broke ground on the $500-million project in 2012. It was scheduled to open its doors in early 2016, but that date was pushed back nearly two years.
"I'm excited, of course. Happy that it's finally going to be opening, but it seems like there's a lot a lot of work left to do," says MacPherson.
The convention centre is part of the Nova Centre – a development project that includes a hotel, financial towers, public plaza, retail space, and parking.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Allan April.
