Forget a handover of ceremonial keys. When Calgary Municipal Land Corporation turned over the BMO Centre expansion to the Calgary Stampede Wednesday, it was with a flourish, by doffing construction helmets in favour of cowboy hats.
Kate Thompson, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation CEO, says she was proud to deliver the project on time and on budget.
“We didn’t just expand the BMO Centre; we transformed it. And that transformation is really going to put Calgary on the map.”
The half-a-billion-dollar project doubled the size of the BMO to more than one-million square feet.
There are plenty of one-of-a-kind finishes to make it an iconic building, like a 21-metre fireplace, the largest in Canada.
There are leather doors leading to the Brand room that replicate the stitching of cowboy boots.
The room is in honour of Stampede founders: Patrick Burns, A.J. Mclean, George Lane and A. E. Cross.
There are 70 original works of art, including a replica of the Neon Cowboy.
It’s all designed to draw in people from all over the world.
“One-hundred incremental events between opening and 2030, most of those occurring before 2028 actually,” said Joel Cowley, Calgary Stampede CEO. “About half of those are conventions, new conventions, that are coming to Calgary for the first time.”
Cowley says conventions are the most important because they bring in people from other places, along with their wallets.
“The one that we are most excited about in the near term is Rotary International, which will be here in 2025, just before the 2025 Calgary Stampede, expected to have between 25,000 and 30,000 delegates, which will probably take every hotel room between Okotoks and Airdrie.”
Now comes the push for hotels, along with new pubs and restaurants. Thompson says negotiations have picked up as the project nears completion.
“Absolutely a huge part of the facility is not just the exhibit halls and the meeting halls we spoke of, but also the hotel rooms to come. We have had a lot of interest, especially as the projects come together.”
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the BMO Centre will lead the way in bringing about the new Cultural and Entertainment District and help revitalize the entire downtown. She says she can’t name names, but negotiations are underway to bring in private development.
“There is a lot of market confidence in the fact that this district is coming up in a way that we had promised. The fact that this convention centre is here, the fact that an event centre is coming, has got a lot of people interested.”
The public grand opening is June 8.
BMO Centre by the numbers
The new BMO will be able to host 33,000 people at one time.
It will become the largest convention centre in Western Canada, with 565,000 square feet of new space, needing 10,000 tonnes of steel and 2.4-million square feet of drywall.
A total of 5,ooo workers contribute two-million hours of labour on the $500-million project (divided equally between the federal, provincial and municipal governments.)
In the next 90 days, workers will bring in 6,500 stacking chairs, 600 round banquet tables and 500 rectangle tables. There will also be 7,680 forks and knives and 6,200 dinner plates brought inside.
The first event it will host will be the Global Energy show in June of this year.
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