After a report over the future of the Edmonton EXPO Centre suggested the city take over operations from Northlands, City Council has approved that plan.
The City announced late Tuesday that councillors had approved the plan that day. The decision was made during a closed-door meeting.
Last week, a report was released on the City of Edmonton website ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, it recommended the consolidation of the Shaw Conference Centre and the Edmonton EXPO Centre under one umbrella.
The discussion started behind closed doors, after Northlands admitted it could not pay back a multi-million dollar loan from the city.
The Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) CEO Brad Ferguson released a statement in response to the news, saying EEDC was aware of council’s decision and was “grateful for their vote of confidence in our organization.”
“Consolidating Edmonton’s conference and convention centres under EEDC leadership and management will provide additional opportunities for improved conference, convention and major event attraction. EEDC has been entrusted with management of the Edmonton EXPO Centre because of the outstanding work of our EEDC and Shaw Conference Centre staff in positioning the SCC as a premier meetings and events destination in Edmonton.”
The transition is expected to be complete on January 1, 2018 – and the city said negotiations are underway to finalize it.
