[darwink]

Plans for 17th Ave Extension includes two at grade crossings, one pedestrian only on 14th Ave:

With a bonus Tom Muclair:

 

[Surrealplaces]

This is great news. Having the at grade crossing at 17th is going to be a game changer.

 

[Mountain Man]

They are going to get rid of the piss stained concrete spiral at 15 Ave? Fantastic! oh and sweet about 17th extending, just need to get rid of the autobody shops and 17th will be greatly improved on it's east end.

 

[CBBarnett]

Love it so far. A truly transit-first convention and event centre. This is a good sign.

 

[Cyric]

Work on the hall F expansion has begun. Right now they are digging up and removing the concrete from the parking lot.

 

[CBBarnett]

Do we have any detailed designs for what the ultimate facility will look like?

 

[UrbanWarrior]

Trust me, they'll be posted within an hour of their release once that happens.

 

[Cyric]

Hall F Construction

 

[AccUnit]

I'm pumped about this expansion. Took my sons to the international auto show couple of weeks ago, in the current setup they occupy halls A-D and makes for a good outing. I couldn't help thinking what it would be like with twice the space. Same thing with Beerfest this weekend, such a great event, imagining it twice the size it pretty exciting.

 

[JonnyCanuck]

I'm pumped about this expansion. Took my sons to the international auto show couple of weeks ago, in the current setup they occupy halls A-D and makes for a good outing. I couldn't help thinking what it would be like with twice the space. Same thing with Beerfest this weekend, such a great event, imagining it twice the size it pretty exciting.

The annual car show might be able to fill the additional space however there are few, if any, other consumer shows that could do the same. For example, the home shows are dying. I have not been to the boat/recreational show in years so I can't comment on that. The other popular show, Comic and Entertainment Expo was just this past weekend. Are there enough vendors & attractions to expand that show?

 

[AccUnit]

True, there are not many shows that will fill 500K sqft of space but those that do will be awesome. I hope big ones are able to make the leap and use the space effectively.

 

[darwink]

It will take a while to get to that much space, and the space will allow many simultaneous trade show/conventions type things.

Some phasing pulled from the air to help visualize how things will be segregated at the end. Blue, Hall F, orange, new building and handling space (interim as connection between new and old sections), purple, redevelopment of the old sections to remove the columns (maybe even make it clear span over all three halls) and update the support space.

You can easily see how you can run two large trade shows by splitting north and south, three if the orange phase is trade show ready. With the LRT reconfigured, you won't be dumping everyone into the facility on the second level anymore.

 

[JonnyCanuck]

No question. It will be a game changer for trade shows and conventions.

 

[MichaelS]

I'm pumped about this expansion. Took my sons to the international auto show couple of weeks ago, in the current setup they occupy halls A-D and makes for a good outing. I couldn't help thinking what it would be like with twice the space. Same thing with Beerfest this weekend, such a great event, imagining it twice the size it pretty exciting.

With major manufacturers deciding to skip traditional car shows (both BMW and Mercedes were absent this year) I can't imagine the Calgary Auto Show will ever need more space than it currently does.

Hell, even the North American International Auto Show (Detroit) has had to have an entire rethink due to the manufacturers declining to attend.

 

[AccUnit]

Yeah I was surprised not to see Mercedes and BMW there because the place was packed. I don't know what official attendance is but in the last two years have seemed pretty full. Who knows if the show actually drives sales though. Still a great way to spend an afternoon.