| Edmonton Expo Centre | |
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 Edmonton Expo Centre entrance | |
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| Address | 7515 118 Avenue NW |
| Location | Edmonton,Alberta |
| Coordinates | 53°34′7″N113°27′29″W / 53.56861°N 113.45806°W /53.56861; -113.45806 |
| Owner | Explore Edmonton (City of Edmonton) |
| Opened | April 14, 1984[1] |
| Expanded | 2009 |
Former names | Northlands Agricom (1984–2009) |
| Enclosed space | |
| • Total space | 522,000 sq ft (48,500 m2) |
| • Exhibit hall floor | 400,694 sq ft (37,225.7 m2) (8 halls) |
| • Breakout/meeting | 21,485 sq ft (1,996.0 m2) (6 rooms) |
| • Ballroom | 16,545 sq ft (1,537.1 m2) |
| Parking | 3,800 spaces |
| Public transit access |    Coliseum station |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheEdmonton Expo Centre, formerly theNorthlands AgriCom and also known as theEdmonton Exposition and Conference Centre[2] is a multi-purposeconvention centre inEdmonton, Alberta, Canada. Operated byExplore Edmonton on behalf of the City of Edmonton, it is located in Edmonton'sMontrose neighbourhood, across the street from the now-closedNorthlands Coliseum.
The facility was built in1984 on the site of the oldEdmonton Gardens, the first home of the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers moved across118 Avenue in 1974 to the newNorthlands Coliseum. Prior to 2009, the EXPO Centre was known as the Northlands AgriCom, or simply The Agricom, from theagricultural andcommercialtrade shows which it was built to host.
From 1996 to 1998, a portion of the venue was used as the home arena of theEdmonton Ice of theWestern Hockey League. It was considered a substandard venue for the team, which was prevented from using the nearby Coliseum;Edmonton Sun writerTerry Jones described the arena as being an "abomination of a building", "with the atrocious situation of a reasonable $13.50 ticket price but a $10 Northlands parking price to go with it." The team would subsequently re-locate toKootenay.[3]
In 2002 the arena became host of the2002 World Ringette Championships.
In December 2009, renovations were completed that doubled the facility's size to 522,000 sq ft (48,500 m2), which was expected to make it the largest such facility in Canada outside of Toronto at the time. The additions included four new exhibition halls, and new conference centre named the Alberta Ballroom. TheAlberta government contributed $50 million to the project, while the federal government contributed $25 million.[2][4] The city loaned $48 million.[5]
In 2010, the Edmonton Expo Centre hosted the lastPowerama Motoring Expo, which it had hosted since the expo's inception in 1984.[6][7]
In February 2016, as part of the "Northlands Vision 2020" proposal, it was revealed that Northlands hoped to upgrade the existing arena to a more modern standard 5,000-seat indoor arena to the Expo Centre for concerts and sporting events.[8] However, the 2016 opening of the new downtown arenaRogers Place, which replaced Northlands'Rexall Place as the home ofEdmonton Oilers games and other major events, caused the organization to incur an increasing amount of debt due to lost event revenue.[5]
In July 2017, it was reported that Northlands had been in private discussions with the city about its future. The organization intended to divest itself of Rexall Place, Northlands Park, and the Edmonton Expo Centre in order to focus on promoting agricultural innovation.[9] On August 29, 2017, the city of Edmonton announced that it would take ownership of the Edmonton Expo Centre and forgive $42 million in debt. The venue's operations were merged with those of the downtownShaw Conference Centre under the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation in 2018.[10] The Northlands Coliseum was similarly taken over by the city on the same day, although it also ceased operations.[11][12][13]
In June 2018, it was announced that theEdmonton Stingers of the newly establishedCanadian Elite Basketball League would play their home games at the Expo Centre.[14]
In 2022, the facility began its $98 million rehabilitation project which includes updates to the building envelope, roof replacement, mechanical and electrical upgrades, and installation of the largestrooftop solar array in Canada.[15] It is expected to be completed in 2025.[16]
| Hall | Square Feet | Booth Capacity | Reception Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 53,262 | 274 | 2,500 |
| B | 58,104 | 301 | 3,000 |
| C | 77,472 | 413 | 4,000 |
| D (arena) | 53,410 | 325 | 4,628 |
| (D) Sales Ring | 8,990 | 65 | |
| E | 53,836 | 253 | 2,500 |
| F | 39,156 | 181 | 3,500 |
| G | 29,328 | 138 | 3,000 |
| H | 36,126 | 178 | 3,250 |
| Alberta Ballroom | 16,545 | 1,200 | |
| Totals | 417,239 | 2,063 | 26,450 |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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