Convention centre generates millions for Calgary’s economy

Downtown facility key component of a vibrant city core, writes.

Re: “Nashville is wrong model for reviving Stampede Park,” Richard White, Opinion, Feb. 3.

I am Clark Grue, a fourth generation Albertan and the CEO of the Calgary Telus Convention Centre in the heart of downtown.

Recently, the Herald published a column by Richard White about his visit to Nashville in October. Among other things, he said Calgary’s Telus Convention Centre should be repurposed. Although he did not define what he meant by repurpose, unless he is referring to investing in the current convention centre, he is wrong.

The centre is not similar to any other facility in Calgary. It is in a perfect location, a great fit for meetings, conferences and business events for Calgarians, Canadians and international delegates. In addition, if we want “a vibrant Main Street,” vibrant resonates from the downtown.

Over the years, every time Calgary has invested in the convention centre, it has benefited the city and all Calgarians. By hosting conventions, congresses, dignitaries, professionals, thought leaders, graduations, weddings, concerts and even wrestling events, our convention centre drives activity and economic impact in the downtown core every single day.

The activity we drive into our city comes with significant economic and intellectual impact. The direct economic impact of each delegate to our city is about $328 per day. This figure is increased when we add in the indirect economic impact, such as the jobs created in the hospitality industry. If we add in the induced economic impact of intellectual capital invested into the city, it grows yet again — all from having people host their events at our convention centre.

We are a catalyst for intermixing our business, medical and academic communities, which creates opportunities for learning and commerce, and builds lasting ties that result in repeat visits beyond the conference.

Thanks to its unique design, the centre is highly activated and hosts some type of gathering almost every day of the year. Today, as the trillion-dollar global meetings and conventions industry is evolving, and the way people convene is changing, trends are moving toward the more efficient use of space and more downtown-centric locations to hold conferences, meetings and events.

Bulky convention centres around the world are looking for ways to shrink their space to make it more experiential and less cavernous, which engages delegates with the city and the people.

People want to eat in local restaurants, go shopping and enjoy local arts and culture and interact with the community. They want to walk around and experience everything in a central location, with worldclass accommodations like the Marriott, the Hyatt, the Palliser, Le Germain and many others. Calgary’s convention district is purposefully built to be that.

We are attracting conventions from around the world, bringing visitors to our city who pour millions of dollars into our local businesses. The opportunity today is to invest in our downtown convention centre to proactively meet the new market demands from Europe, China and Mexico, which want to choose our city as a place to visit, connect and learn.

Groups of 500 to 2,000 delegates from around the world make up the majority of conferences and fit with ease into our convention district and our city.

We are currently rejuvenating our downtown convention centre and creating space that is experiential, energized and connected to Calgary’s core. We are well suited for the market and a catalyst to activate our downtown in new and exciting ways.

Richard White’s opinion about repurposing contributes to the confusion about our convention centre. The clarity and solution for Calgary is to continue investing in the downtown, in the convention district and in the convention centre as we drive economic impact, attract the global community and generate activity over 330 days a year in Calgary’s heart and soul.

The direct economic impact of each delegate to our city is about $328 per day