Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre main entrance

The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) is located on the

Gold Coast Highway Gold Coast Highway links the coastal suburbs of the Gold Coast in south eastern Queensland such as Miami, Mermaid Beach, Tugun, Bilinga to the Tweed Heads suburb of Tweed Heads West in New South Wales. At in length, the highway runs jus ...

Broadbeach, Queensland Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Broadbeach had a population of 5,514 people. Geography Development in the area today mostly incorporates low rise structures, consisting of single bedroom hous ...

, Australia. The venue was opened on 29 June 2004 at a cost of A$167 million and is linked by a covered walkway to

The Star Gold Coast The Star Gold Coast (formerly Jupiters Hotel and Casino) is a casino and hotel located in the suburb of Broadbeach on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. The casino, which was Queensland's first, is situated next to the Nerang River and ...

. Managed by the

Star Entertainment Group The Star Entertainment Group Limited is an Australian gambling and entertainment company. The company was formerly known as Echo Entertainment. Properties The Star Entertainment owns and operates the Treasury Casino & Hotel, The Star Gold Coast ...

, the Centre caters for 10 to 6,000 people.Gold Coast Australia
"Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre"
Retrieved 21 December 2010. Situated in Broadbeach, the GCCEC is within walking distance to tourism hotspots, five-star accommodation, shopping facilities and public transport.

Expansion

The centre was expanded at a cost of $40 million in early 2009. The makeover was funded by the Queensland Government, adding two extra exhibition halls, a registration office, three meeting rooms and three new kitchens and an extra 3,000 square metres of floor space in total. The Queensland Government commenced construction proceedings as a result of the increasing demand on the Gold Coast for larger space and concurrent sessions during national and international conventions and incentives. The final product required over 124,000 man hours, of concrete poured, of structural steel erected and of paint.

Events

The GCCEC is home to numerous conventions, from the association, corporate and franchise sectors to consumer shows and entertainment events. From the 2007-08 NBL season until the end of the 2011-12 season, the venue was home to 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 ...

of the National Basketball League with the capacity to seat 5,269 spectators. During Blaze home games the centre was referred to as "The Furnace" and gained a reputation for having close games with three Blaze games during the

2010-11 NBL season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

going into

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. Along with the

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) is a convention centre in Brisbane, Australia. It is located in South Brisbane and occupies most of the block formed by Grey Street, Melbourne Street, Merivale Street, and Glenelg Street. The centr ...

, 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 ...

, a Brisbane-based netball team in the

Suncorp Super Netball Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...

played occasional home games at the venue until 2018. In 2007 the

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...

(PBR) hosted its first-ever World Cup event at the GCCEC, pitting 5 nations of bull riders against each other in a team format; the event was won by team

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 2012, GCCEC played host to the Gold Coast judges' audition in the third series of

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

and the UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson bout - the first of its kind to be held in

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_ ...

. The Centre hosted the Netball competition at the 2018 Commonwealth Games which are being held on the Gold Coast, as well as host the accredited media centre for the event. On 8 and 9 February 2019 it hosted the Eurovision 2019 Australia Decides contest, the first venue for the contest. The centre once again hosted the contest a year later in 2020. In December 2019, the Gold Coast Convention Centre was meant to host the first Eurovision Asia Song Contest, however due to production issues the contest had been cancelled. The venue will host Volleyball for the 2032 Summer Olympics and will also be used for Powerlifting and Sitting Volleyball for the

2032 Summer Paralympics The 2032 Summer Paralympics, officially the 19th Summer Paralympic Games and commonly known as Brisbane 2032 (Turrbal: ''Meeanjin 2032''), are an upcoming major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the Int ...

Awards

The GCCEC has won more than 20 awards over the past decade, including winner of the 2012 Meetings and Events Industry Awards – National Meeting Venue 500 Delegates or More and 2010 Meetings and Business Tourism Category at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

Sustainability

The centre's environmental practices have been recognised by the world's largest and most recognised environmental management program,

EarthCheck EarthCheck (previously known as EC3 Global), an international tourism advisory group. It is headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland and was developed by the Sustainable Tourism CRC, a research centre specialising in sustainable tourism and research ...

.Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centr

retrieved 07 January 2015 The centre's environmental and social policy is driven by a volunteer committee of dedicated employees, who also maintain the centre's annual EarthCheck accreditation program. The centre has successfully implemented an Environmental Management and Sustainability Plan containing key strategies for energy and water conservation and waste management. GCCEC works with community groups including Australia's leading food rescue organisation

OzHarvest Ronni Kahn Order of Australia, AO is an Australian social entrepreneur, best known for founding the food rescue charity OzHarvest. Born in South Africa, Kahn moved to Israel where she lived on a kibbutz for many years before emigrating to Austra ...

to redistribute freshly prepared and packaged foods to local charities.

References

External links