Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre | |
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General information | |
Type | Convention centre |
Location | Mounts Bay Road, Perth, Western Australia |
Coordinates | 31°57′25″S115°51′14″E / 31.9569°S 115.854°E |
Current tenants | Wyllie Group Brookfield |
Construction started | 2001 |
Completed | August 2004 |
Management | Spotless Group Holdings |
Technical details | |
Floor area | 16,500 m2 (178,000 sq ft) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Cox Architects |
Developer | Government of Western Australia |
Main contractor | Multiplex |
Other information | |
Seating capacity | 2,500 (Riverside Theatre) |
Website | |
www |
The Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre is a privately owned convention centre located in Perth, Western Australia.
The centre has a floor space of 16,000 square metres (172,223 sq ft)[ clarification needed ] and can cater for 5,000 delegates. [1] It contains state-of-the-art technical facilities, six exhibition pavilions, a 2,500 seat tiered theatre, [2] banquet/ballrooms and 23 meeting rooms. [3]
Premier Richard Court, announced in November 2000 that a contract had been signed with Multiplex after five months of negotiations. Construction was to commence in June 2001 with a late 2003 completion date. [4]
Built by Multiplex at a cost of A$225 million [1] it was officially opened in August 2004 by Premier Geoff Gallop. Its construction was extremely controversial, owing to an overblown budget and an unprepossessing external appearance. It has been described as a "Soviet-era mausoleum" and a "giant grey cockroach", [5] as well as a white elephant whose financial viability has been questionable. [6] However, it made it possible for Perth to host the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), [7] with heads of state and official delegates of more than 50 member countries.
The Wyllie Group have a 35-year lease on the centre until 2039. [8] It is managed by the Spotless Group, [9] who committed to spend $50 million over 22 years starting in 2016, ensuring Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre remains a major destination for national and international events and provides economic value for Perth and Western Australia. [10]
In 2016 the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre attracted more than 900,000 visitors, including 98,000 national and international delegates. [10] However, a report released that same year by the Tourism Council of WA asserted that the Centre should be expanded with an additional 10,000 square metres (107,639 sq ft) of space in order to remain competitive. [11] In 2019, it was found that the underground carpark was experiencing subsidence issues. [12] In 2022, Brookfield purchased a 50 percent stake in the centre. [13]
In January 2024, the WA State Government revealed plans by Wyllie Group and Brookfield to upgrade the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. The proposal includes expanding the centre's capacity as well as building a new waterfront area with direct access to the Swan River with three jetties and a floating performance stage, and a new pedestrian bridge connecting the centre to Elizabeth Quay. Wyllie Group hopes the upgrade will be completed by 2029. [11]
The centre is between Mounts Bay Road and the Mitchell Freeway off-ramp, with the Elizabeth Quay development adjacent to the east of the complex.
It is the only purpose-built convention centre in Western Australia and can cater for functions of up to 5,000 delegates. The project was aimed at attracting major conventions to Perth, with the state's tourism and hospitality industries in mind.
The centre has two public lifts, one travelling from the underground car park, through level one, concluding at level two; the other from level two to level three.
Perth is the capital and largest city of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.2 million within Greater Perth. It is part of the South West Land Division of Western Australia, with the majority of Perth's metropolitan area on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp. The city has expanded outward from the original British settlements on the Swan River, upon which its central business district and port of Fremantle are situated.
108 St Georges Terrace or South32 Tower is a 50-storey office tower in Perth, Western Australia. Completed in 1988, the building measures 214 metres (702 ft) to its roof and 247 metres (810 ft) to the tip of its communications antenna. It was the tallest building in Perth from its completion in 1988 until 1992 when it was overtaken in height by Central Park. As of 2023, it is the third-tallest building in the city. The concrete tower has a distinctive profile, with a triangular plan.
Elizabeth Quay bus station, formerly the Esplanade Busport, is a Transperth bus station, located at the southern edge of the Perth CBD in Western Australia, next to the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre and Elizabeth Quay railway station. It has 35 stands and is served by 55 Transperth routes operated by Path Transit, Swan Transit and Transdev WA. It is also served by South West Coach Lines services.
Perth Water is a section of the Swan River on the southern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It is between the Causeway to the east, and Narrows Bridge to the west – a large wide but shallow section of river, and the northern edge of the suburb South Perth. It is considered a landmark of the City of Perth.
The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the Museum Act 1969.
Bill Wyllie was a Western Australian businessman who was best known for his career as a "corporate doctor" in Hong Kong; and most notably for his role in setting up Hutchison Whampoa. In 2003, Australia's Business Review Weekly estimated that his personal wealth was approximately $450 million. The Wyllie Group, which he founded in 1991, has interests in mining and real estate, as well as formerly having a minority interest in the Burswood Casino.
The Perth Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. Owned by the City of Perth, the hall is the main venue of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and also hosts a number of other events and performances. The building itself is located in Perth's central business district, adjacent to the Supreme Court Gardens and Government House. The building has two façades: facing north over St Georges Terrace, and facing south over the Swan River.
Hillarys Boat Harbour is a marina and tourist precinct located in Hillarys, north of Perth, Western Australia and on the Indian Ocean.
Multiplex is an international construction contractor founded in Australia and currently headquartered in London, England. Operating in Australia, India, Canada, Europe and the Middle East, the company specializes in high-rise buildings, studio, high-end residential, mixed-use, education, health and civil infrastructure developments.
Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) is a state government hospital and teaching facility in Murdoch, Western Australia. Completed in December 2013, the hospital is the largest building project ever undertaken for the Government of Western Australia. It is immediately adjacent to the private non-profit St John of God Murdoch Hospital, with the distance between the entrances to the emergency departments of these two hospitals being approximately 390 metres (430 yd).
Brookfield Place is a skyscraper within the Brookfield Place office complex in Perth, Western Australia. It is currently the second tallest building in Western Australia. Located at 125 St Georges Terrace, the major tenant is BHP.
The 1910 Perth Technical School building is located at 137 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia, adjacent to the Old Perth Boys School building, which had served as part of the school's former temporary premises since opening of classes there on 16 May 1900.
Exchange Plaza is a 40-storey skyscraper in Perth, Western Australia. Completed in 1991, the 146-metre (479 ft) building is the state headquarters of the Australian Securities Exchange. Currently it is the sixth tallest skyscraper in Perth after QV.1, the BankWest Tower, City Square and Central Park.
Allendale Square is a 32-storey skyscraper in Perth, Western Australia. When opened in 1976, the 132-metre (433 ft) building surpassed the AMP Building to become the tallest completed building in Perth, a title which it only held until 1977 when St Martins Tower opened.
140 St Georges Terrace is a 30-storey skyscraper in Perth, Western Australia. Opened in 1975, the 131-metre (430 ft) tower was known as the AMP Building or AMP Tower after its owner and former flagship tenant, AMP Limited. The building became the tallest completed skyscraper in Perth in 1975, a title which it held only until 1976, when Allendale Square was opened.
Perth is a suburb in the Perth metropolitan region, Western Australia that includes both the central business district of the city, and a suburban area spreading north to the northern side of Hyde Park. It does not include the separate suburbs of Northbridge or Highgate. Perth is split between the City of Perth and the City of Vincent local authorities, and was named after the city of the same name in Scotland.
Warren Perry Anderson is an Australian businessman and speculative investor whose net worth in 1990 was estimated by BRW at $190 million, although the following year he was reported to have debts of $500 million, and filed for bankruptcy.
The Esplanade Reserve in Perth, Western Australia, was a heritage listed public space between Perth Water and the Perth central business district. The public space was resumed by the Western Australian state government in April 2012 as part of the Elizabeth Quay redevelopment of the Perth waterfront area.
Elizabeth Quay is a mixed-use development project in the Perth central business district. Encompassing an area located on the north shore of Perth Water near the landmark Swan Bells, the precinct was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee.
The Perth cable car is a proposed aerial lift between the Elizabeth Quay waterfront area and Kings Park in Perth, Western Australia.