The Cairns Convention Centre is a convention and entertainment centre in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. The venue was selected the World's Best Congress Centre in 2004 and 2014.

Description

The centre has a floor space of on a site in the Cairns CBD, 10 minutes from Cairns International Airport. The centre has an auditorium with 2,300 seats, an arena with 5,000 seats, a new plenary that can fit 410, banquet space for 400, 23 meeting rooms and state-of-the art audio visual facilities.Greenbuild.com.au, http://www.greenbuild.com.au/case-studies/cairns-convention-centre , "Tropical eco building and living", retrieved 17 December 2015

History

The Cairns Convention Centre is owned by the

Queensland State Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

and has been managed and marketed by AEG Ogden since 1994. Stage one of the building opened on 26 June 1996 and a multi-purpose 5,300-seat hall was added in 1999. The Centre is undergoing another expansion in 2020, adding more meeting space and a third level. It was Australia's first regional convention centre and the country's first environmentally designed public building, and in its opening year it won the inaugural international EIBTM's most environmentally conscious congress centre.Dalton, Nick. http://www.cairnspost.com.au/business/cairns-convention-centre-in-line-for-top-honour/story-fnjpusdv-1226876423326, "Centre turns 15", The Cairns Post, 27 July 2011 It became home to the Cairns Taipans in 1999, the team's first year in the NBL. The centre undertook a $12 million refurbishment in 2005 and a $6.3 million upgrade in 2011. The current expansion is budgeted to cost $17 6million and will be completed in 2022.

Sport

Since the team's inaugural season in 1999, the Cairns Convention Centre has been the home venue for the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

, who play in the National Basketball League. During Taipans home games, the centre is referred to as "The Snakepit".Cairns Taipans, http://www.taipans.com/game-night/venue/ , "Venue Cairns Convention Centre", retrieved 17 December 2015 The Convention Centre hosted preliminary rounds of the men's basketball competition at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, which was held on Queensland's Gold Coast in April

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Recent events

In 2014, the centre hosted the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and the Australian Tourism Exchange conference, the first time it was held in a regional destination. Also in 2014, it held the World Buiatrics Congress, the 6th International Symposium on Fish Nutrition and Feeding, the Association of Financial Advisers Conference and Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects. In 2015, it hosted the Professional Bull Riding Cairns Invitational, adding 300 tonnes of sand to the floor of Hall Two, the 25th Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry, World Congress on Larynx Cancer, Australasian Hydrographic Symposium, Prostate Cancer World Congress, Toyota Dealer Meeting and Hilux Launch and James Cook University Graduation Ceremonies. It has been selected to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games basketball heats.

Awards

The Centre received the 2014 and 2004 International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) APEX Award for World's Best Congress Centre. It was inducted into the Queensland Tourism Awards Hall of Fame after winning gold in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Business Event Venues category and received the Chairman's Award for Excellence in the Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Industry Excellence Awards. In 2011, it achieved Gold Certification in the AIPC Quality Standards Program.

References

External links

* {{2018 Commonwealth Games venues 1996 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1996 Convention centres in Australia National Basketball League (Australia) venues Basketball venues in Australia Music venues in Australia Indoor arenas in Australia Cairns Taipans Buildings and structures in Cairns 2018 Commonwealth Games venues Boxing venues in Australia Tourist attractions in Cairns Philip Cox buildings Sport in Cairns Sports venues in Queensland Basketball at the 2018 Commonwealth Games