Australian Capital's Convention Center Sold for One Dollar
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 6/6/2005
InterContinental Hotels Group has sold the Natl. Convention Centre in Australia's capital of Canberra to the Australian Capital Territory Government for AU $1 (U.S. 75 cents) in return for a 15-year lease to operate and manage the facility after ACT completes an AU $30 million (U.S. $23 million upgrade.
The upgraded center will deliver "a modern conventions facility that will support the Canberra business community," said Ted Quinlan, ACT minister for economic development, business and tourism.
The 17-year-old center currently features a 26,000 square foot exhibition hall, five meeting rooms, several theaters and a ballroom. The government and hotel group will jointly oversee venue renovations.
The announcement is in line with the country's push to draw more international tradeshows. The Canberra Convention Bureau in March joined Team Australia, an alliance of 13 CVBs working together to target international business events.
The NCC renovations are scheduled to be completed before the Asia-Pacific Economic Corp.'s annual meeting in nearby Sydney in 2007, which will bring together more than 7,000 international attendees, according to the Sydney Convention & Visitors Bureau.
CCB CEO Robyn Hendry believes Canberra is the best-placed to host many of the APEC-related events and meetings that will take place over 100 days throughout 2007. Said Hendry, "We can't afford to risk losing this business, and unless there is immediate investment in our infrastructure, these meetings will most likely be conducted elsewhere (in Australia)."
Sydney will also host the Metropolis Congress 2008, which is expected to attract 700 global urban affairs leaders and bring an estimated AU $2.3 million (U.S. $1.7 million) to the region.
