Mayor wants province to chip in on convention centre reno

No blueprint drawn yet, but Tory wants downtown facility to improve its space

Toronto is looking for provincial help in building a new or improved convention centre to attract major gatherings that now go to other cities. Mayor John Tory broached the subject with Premier Kathleen Wynne at a meeting Thursday, saying such a project is “fundamental to jobs and investment in Toronto.

“We have a convention centre that, I guess, looks good if you walk around in it, but actually when you rank it, and it’s subjective rankings that are done, it ranks somewhere in the thirties,” Tory said at a news conference with Wynne. (Tory did not specify what rankings he was citing but a 2013 city report stated that the Metro Toronto Convention Centre ranked 33rd in North America in terms of available space.)

There was no mention of cost or other details with the idea — previously raised during discussions about a possible downtown casino three years ago — still in its early stages.

“We don’t have the blueprints,” Wynne quipped in her only comment on the subject.

Tory said the existing Metro Toronto centre on Front St. W., which has rooms on many levels in its north and south sections, does not have enough contiguous space cavernous enough to accommodate major conventions.

“We know for a fact that we’ve lost some very important conventions and shows that just won’t come here,” the mayor told reporters.

“We have to fix that because that’s going to be fundamental to getting all the best and the brightest from around the world, from important industries and important scientific organizations and so on, to come to the city.

“A large part of people deciding to invest here and even to live here is that they get exposed to the city and see how we live and see the quality of life.”

Tory said he wants to have a “serious discussion” with the provincial government about getting the project rolling.

He wouldn’t discuss possible sites for a new convention centre — “We’re a long way from locations and blueprints.”

During the downtown casino debate in 2012 and 2013 END, proponents said Toronto should not ignore the convention, trade show and tourist benefits that a downtown gambling resort could bring.

One proposal at the time, by Oxford Properties, was for a $3-billion expansion of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to act as a casino anchor.

The convention centre currently hosts about 175,000 delegates per year who spend $300 million. Some estimates suggested that spending could be more than doubled with a bigger convention centre.