Edmonton Convention Centre
| Shaw Conference Centre | |
|---|---|
Shaw Conference Centre main entrance
|
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| Location | 9797 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 1N9 |
| Coordinates | 53°32′29″N 113°29′9″W / 53.54139°N 113.48583°W |
| Owner | City of Edmonton |
| Opened | 1983 |
| Expanded | 2006 |
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Construction cost
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C$81.8 million ($179 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Enclosed space | |
| • Total space | 144,406 sq ft (13,415.8 m2) |
The Shaw Conference Centre (colloquially called The Shaw, or SCC), is a meeting, entertainment, and convention venue located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The doors to the SCC opened in 1983 and since 1993 it has been managed by Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC), a not-for-profit enterprise owned by the City of Edmonton.
Formerly the Edmonton Convention Centre, its current name comes from a $5.5 million, 20 year corporate partnership between EEDC and Shaw Communications Inc., signed in 1997.
It is reported by EEDC that the SCC boosts Edmonton's economy by an estimated $44 million a year.
Plans for a city owned trade and convention centre, originally combined with sports (arena, stadium) facilities, had been considered for a number of years. A plebiscite asking if the city should spend $14 million ($110 million today) on land and construction of a downtown sports and convention complex was rejected by voters in 1963. Edmonton citizens voted in favour of a $23 million proposal ($155 million today) in the 1968 Convention and Sports Complex plebiscite, but voted against the revised $34 million ($212 million today) funding request in the 1970 Omniplex project plebiscite.
While voters had rejected the funding for the project, a municipal bylaw allowing the city to build was still on the books. The scope of the project was reduced when the Northlands Coliseum ice hockey arena opened in 1974, followed by the Commonwealth Stadium football facility in 1978. Edmonton City Council received support from the electorate to move forward with a more focused trade and convention centre in a special plebiscite in 1979.
James Wensley, a local Edmontonian, was the architect for the SCC and was awarded the Alberta Association of Architects Citation in 1983 for his work on the facility. Other notable works in the City from this architect include the Manulife, Scotia Place and Sunlife buildings.
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