The RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg (formerly the Winnipeg Convention Centre) is a major meeting and

convention centre A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

located in

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Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

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. It has five levels including indoor parking for 729 vehicles, and three levels of various meeting trade show space totalling . The main exhibit hall has of pillar-less space. The convention centre is connected to the

Winnipeg Walkway The Winnipeg Walkway System, also known as the Winnipeg Skywalk, is a network of pedestrian skyways and Pedestrian tunnels, tunnels connecting a significant portion of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The City of Winnipeg described the Walkway as a s ...

system via a skywalk connection crossing St. Mary Avenue and Hargrave Street, connecting the venue to the neighbouring

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

hotel, Cityplace, and Canada Life Centre.

History

The convention centre was recommended as part of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (Metro) Downtown Development Plan of 1969. Metro and the Province of Manitoba announced the $35-million Winnipeg Convention Centre on 10 September 1970. Always in opposition to metropolitan government, Mayor of Winnipeg

Stephen Juba Stephen Juba (July 1, 1914 – May 2, 1993) was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1953 to 1959, and served as the 37th Mayor of Winnipeg from 1957 to 1977. He was the first Ukrainian Cana ...

did not attend the announcing press conference. Originally named the Winnipeg Convention Centre, the publicly-owned facility was built and opened in 1975. The building, designed by Canadian architect

Isadore (Issie) Coop Isadore "Issie" Coop (1926–2003) was a Canadian architect and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, with a reputation for highly functional, cost-effective architecture. A student of the famed American-German architect Ludwig ...

, of the Number Ten Architectural Group, was among the first "purpose-built"

of its kind built in Canada. Aside from trade shows and conventions, the Convention Centre has also been used as a sports venue and was home to the Winnipeg Cyclone basketball team from 1995 to 2001. A $180-million expansion, completed between 2012 and 2015, roughly doubled the size of the facility, adding of exhibit space and underground parking. In July 2013, the facility was rebranded as the ''RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg'' after its

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

were purchased by

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

. By 2017 the annual visitor count to the Winnipeg Convention Centre had increased by about 50,000 to 557,000 which was directly related to the WCC expansion. Beginning in January 2021, the facility began operating as a "super site" for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

vaccinations.

Events

The Winnipeg Convention Centre hosts regularly scheduled annual events such as a New Years' Eve dinner and dance, a Christmas crafts show known as the "Signatures Handmade Market", the Mid-Canada Boat Show, the Manitoba RV Show and Sale, the Winnipeg Career Fair, the Home & Garden Show (formerly Home Expression Show), the Winnipeg Comicon Show, a Wedding Show. In the 1970s it was the host venue for the Progressive Conservative (1976) and the Liberal (June 1984?) leadership conventions. The WCC was the site of the January 1983 PC party convention where Joe Clark decided to step down as leader. All provincial leadership conventions, except recent NDP, since 1975 have been held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. The convention centre has hosted pop culture events such as the

anime convention An anime and manga convention (often called just anime convention) is a fan convention with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Anime conventions are commonly multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college cam ...

Ai-Kon, Central Canada Comic Con until 2019, and its spiritual successor Winnipeg Comiccon since 2021. It hosted Pemmi-Con—the 15th North American Science Fiction Convention—in 2023.

References

External links

RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in downtown Winnipeg Convention centres in Canada Basketball venues in Canada Handball venues in Canada Sports venues in Winnipeg Venues of the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games handball venues