The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) A$200m (US$150m) expansion site is a few weeks away from opening, the venue’s chief executive said at an update press conference during the IMEX trade show last week (16 May).
The new space will cement MCEC ’s position as the largest convention and exhibition space in Australia, with an increased total size of over 70,000sqm.
The 20,000-square-metre expansion includes 9,000sqm of exhibition space plus additional flexible, multi-purpose event space, a 1,000-seat plenary theatre, multiple meeting rooms, a banquet room and the Goldfields Café and Bar.
King said customer experience had been front of mind when planning the design. “We want to ensure our facilities suit the needs of our customers, rather than constraining them to fit within our space. A multi-purpose area with a retractable 1,000 seat theatre and adaptable meeting rooms are just two of the many flexible features throughout the new building,” the CEO said.
King added that 300 events have been confirmed or are being negotiated for the new expansion space, between July 2018 and the end of 2024.
Victoria State’s minister for tourism and major events, Hon. John Eren expects the expansion to cement Melbourne as the business events capital of Australia.
“Not only will this redevelopment boost tourism, it will create more than 900 new jobs and provide a massive boost to our visitor economy by attracting more events and thousands more visitors to Victoria each year,” the minister said.
The expansion space’s first major event will be the 1st Malaria World Congress, 1–5 July 2018.
