Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and the Calgary Stamped announced in mid-March the substantial completion of the 4-year, $500 million BMO Centre expansion. The facility will be ready for its June opening—it’s in the final stages of competition and ready for the Calgary Stampede to move in.
The four-year, $500 million BMO Centre expansion is a success story for a multi-use venue that has evolved to better serve event-goers.
Now the largest convention center in western Canada, the BMO Centre was renovated to have over one million square feet of space, including:
- 102,500 sq. ft. of exhibit hall space
- 50,000 sq. ft. of ballroom space
- 118,500 sq. ft. back-of-house service area
- 68,000 sq. ft. of meeting rooms
The facility also has a central hub, atrium, public art sites, and an outdoor plaza and pavilion.
“As development manager for the project, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation is proud to have delivered the BMO Centre expansion on schedule and budget. This is a huge step toward achieving our vision for a vibrant and active Culture + Entertainment District. This milestone would not have been possible without the expertise of our construction manager, PCL Construction, and project manager, M3 Project Management,” said Kate Thompson, CMLC’s president and CEO. “We’re grateful for our world-class design team of Stantec, Populous and S2, and to our partners at the Calgary Stampede. Our shared success today is due to all our consultants’ and contractors’ unwavering commitment and pride of work over the past four years.”
Thousands of workers, millions of hours
About 5,000 workers participated in the project, including demolition crews, drywallers, steelworkers, and electrical and mechanical contractors. More than two million construction hours were logged on the project to bring it to near completion by mid-March.
Creating 565,000 square feet of new space required 10,000 metric tons of steel and 2.4 million square feet of drywall. BMO Centre is Western Canada’s largest convention center, upgraded with a modern look and amenities.
The newly expanded BMO Centre has three floors of tradeshow and convention space, new exhibition halls, two ballrooms, a central hub, and top-tier meeting and banquet space.
The renovation modernized house facilities, including loading areas, building systems, and food preparation areas. Exterior retail and café spaces, as well as a pavilion and public art installations, connect the venue with the Arts District community.
The timely completion of the project this year was good news for entertainment and convention fans. It also was good publicity for the center, resulting in a substantial amount of event bookings.
“The BMO Centre expansion project has been years in the making for the Calgary Stampede. To reach this milestone is monumental, as our team will now work to operationalize the building,” said Joel Cowley, Calgary Stampede CEO. “The impact that the expanded BMO Centre will have on the Calgary Stampede and on Calgary’s tourism, convention and hospitality sector cannot be overstated. We have already seen great interest in the expanded BMO Centre and now have more than 100 incremental events booked through 2030.”
