BCEC on Grey Street

$130M Expansion for Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre’s $130 million expansion will enable the Centre to meet increasing international and national demand.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has officially confirmed plans for the new convention centre development to be located on vacant land adjacent to the existing Convention Centre in Brisbane’s South Bank Precinct, heart of the city’s cultural and entertainment activities.

"The expansion will continue to strengthen the Centre’s position in a very competitive market and will continue to enhance Brisbane’s reputation as a leading destination for meetings and business events," Ms Bligh said.

The Centre’s strong performance, with record forward bookings and sustained growth underpins the timing of the expansion project.

The expansion announcement follows unprecedented demand for the Centre’s facilities with 93 convention bid wins with a record economic benefit of $136 million for Queensland so far this financial year.

The new convention centre development is designed to meet an urgent need to accommodate conventions of up to 600 delegates and will provide greater flexibility in accommodating events of different sizes at the one time.

The expansion design incorporates five levels of boutique convention and event space establishing the Centre as Australia's most flexible meetings and events venue.

The expanded Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre will have total room capacity and numbers of meeting rooms comparable to the new Melbourne Convention Centre while also providing larger clients with the opportunity to increase their plenary sessions up to 8,000 pax.

The new expanded facility to be opened in mid 2010, will be the only convention venue in Australia to have three stand alone Plenary Halls covering meetings from 400 to 8,000, two ballrooms, three Speakers' Presentation Centres, six Executive Boardrooms and Australia’s first tasting room.

Brisbane Convention Centre General Manager, Robert O’Keeffe said the official announcement of the expansion was not only timely but also very welcome. "Brisbane is experiencing a period of record growth with a 28% increase in business tourism nights according to the most recent national visitors survey. The Centre’s forward booking levels are at an all time high and as such the need to expand our facilities has become critical to our future business plans."

"The new development will provide us with the infrastructure to host more than 250 additional new events each year," Mr O'Keeffe said.

South Bank Corporation Chairman Steve Wilson said the expansion of the Centre was a great boost for the Precinct. "The new facilities will face the South Bank Cultural Forecourt and will add to the activation of Grey Street as a retail and restaurant hub and provide a direct link to the South Bank Precinct."