History
The International Centre is one of the few privately owned convention facilities in Canada. Opened in 1972, the centre's exhibit space nearly doubled from the original 260,000 square feet (24,000 m2) following a major expansion and renovation in 2002. The centre now features over 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of exhibit space and approximately 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of gross space which includes exhibit, meeting, office and retail space paying host to a variety of festivities annually.
Roots of the building stem back from Canada's aviation history during the 1950s when the site occupied the production of wings, rear fuselages and empennages to service DC-9 airliners. The area was purchased in 1971 from DeHavilland by a group of investors which eventually led to its purpose as a prominent multi-purpose facility.
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