Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) is a

convention centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia. It is located in

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisba ...

and occupies most of the

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

formed by Grey Street, Melbourne Street, Merivale Street, and Glenelg Street. The centre is owned by South Bank Corporation and managed by

ASM Global The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports event ...

History

Leighton Contractors CIMIC Group Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings) is an Australian construction contractor. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries ...

, beginning in March 1993 with the demolition of

World Expo Park World Expo Park was an amusement park built for Expo '88 in Brisbane, Australia. It was positioned on the corner of Melbourne and Glenelg Streets in South Brisbane, Queensland, South Brisbane, the former site of railway sidings for South Brisbane ...

. The building cost $170 million and was mostly funded by the Queensland Government's sale of a casino license, with the remainder funded directly by the government. The centre was completed in May 1995, and opened on 6 June.

Expansion

The design of an expansion to BCEC on Grey Street was approved in 2007. Laing O'Rourke was appointed as the project's builder in June 2009 after a delay caused by budget issues, and construction began in 2010. The project was completed in early 2012, and opened on 25 January. It cost $140 million and was funded by the Queensland Government. The five-level expansion has 25,000m² of floorspace and includes two auditoria for 400 and 600 with accompanying foyer space, speakers’ facilities, and private boardrooms.

Design

The building is 450 metres in length, 120 m wide and 24 m high. The complex roof design is based on five hyperbolic paraboloids. The building is stabilised by concrete

shear wall In structural engineering, a shear wall is a vertical element of a system that is designed to resist in- plane lateral forces, typically wind and seismic loads. In many jurisdictions, the International Building Code and International Residential Co ...

s and clad in steel. A car park is located on the ground floor.

Events

BCEC hosts events such as the Brisbane International Boat Show, Home Show, Brides Wedding & Honeymoon Expo, World Travel Expo, graduation ceremonies for

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian ...

and Southbank Institute of Technology, art shows, charity events. The centre was selected as the hosting venue for the 2014 G-20 Australia summit.

Sports

From 1998 until 2008, the BCEC Great Hall was the home of three times National Basketball League (NBL) champions the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL f ...

. The Bullets moved from the previous home, the 13,500 seat

Brisbane Entertainment Centre The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall, Queensland, Australia. The centre is managed by ASM Global. The arena has an array of seating plans which facilitate the comfort of ...

, due in part to dwindling crowds and the cost of playing out of the Boondall based stadium. During the 2011-12 NBL season the

Gold Coast Blaze The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's professional basketball team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007–08. The club was based on the Gold Coast and joined the ...

played two home games at the centre. The Convention Centre was also the home to the Brisbane-based

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

side the

Queensland Firebirds Queensland Firebirds are an Australian netball team based in Brisbane, Queensland. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they played in the ...

from 2008 to 2017. The Firebirds were a foundation club of the

Commonwealth Bank Trophy The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1997 and 2007. The league was organized by Netball Australia. Its main sponsor was the Commonwealth Ba ...

(CBT) in 1997 and played at the 2,700 seat Chandler Arena. When the CBT was retired in 2007 and the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

took its place the Firebirds moved to the new championship and also moved into the larger Convention Centre, becoming the venue's second major tenant alongside the Bullets. The team moved home games to the

after the 2017 season.

Gallery

File:Exhibition Halls, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.jpg , alt=Exhibition Halls, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Exhibition Halls File:Boulevard Auditorium, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.jpg , alt=Boulevard Auditorium, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre , Boulevard Auditorium

References

External links

*
Cultural Centre Busway Station map
- includes surrounding area - pdf file {{DEFAULTSORT:Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Convention centres in Australia Boxing venues in Australia Tourist attractions in Brisbane Netball venues in Queensland Basketball venues in Australia Cultural infrastructure completed in 1995 Infrastructure completed in 2012 1995 establishments in Australia Event venues established in 1995 Sports venues completed in 1995 Sports venues in Brisbane Brisbane Bullets Queensland Firebirds Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) venues Legends Football League venues South Brisbane, Queensland Philip Cox buildings Venues of the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics Olympic badminton venues