Enercare Centre, formerly known as the Direct Energy Centre and originally the National Trade Centre, is an exhibition complex located at

Exhibition Place Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. It is used by the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

and the

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF), also known as The Royal, is an annual agricultural fair that is held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the first two weeks of November. It was inaugurated in 1922 in the Coliseum, on the grounds of Exh ...

, as well as by various trade shows. In 2015, it hosted several sport competitions and the broadcasting centre for the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

. The

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

for the complex are currently owned by energy services company Enercare Inc., a subsidiary of

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. is a publicly traded limited partnership with corporate headquarters in Toronto, Canada, that engages in the acquisition and management of infrastructure assets on a global basis. Until a spin-off in Janua ...

History

Located just to the west of the

Princes' Gates The Princes' Gates is a triumphal arch and a monumental gateway at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Made out of cement and stone, the triumphal arch is flanked by colonnades on both of its sides, with curved pylons at both ends. The ...

at the eastern end of Exhibition Place, it was previously the site of a streetcar loop and open space. The new building took over the frontage along Prince's Boulevard and connected to the existing

Coliseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ...

and Industry Buildings (also known as the Agricultural Annex), creating a large inter-connected exhibition complex. The existing southern entrance of the Coliseum was demolished and integrated into the new complex. The streetcar loop was moved to the north of the complex. The open space was previously the site of the Engineering and Electrical Building, opened in 1928 and torn down in 1972. In 2005, the CNE Board of Directors entered into a ten-year agreement with

Direct Energy Direct Energy LP is a North American retailer of energy and energy services. The company was founded in Toronto in 1986 and now has more than four million customers in Canada and the United States. Direct Energy is a subsidiary of NRG Energy. Hi ...

Inc. to sponsor the centre's name, effective in March 2006. Fees go to a reserve fund which is used to keep the centre in a state of good repair. In 2014, part of Direct Energy was sold to Enercare Inc., including the name-in-title of the centre. The agreement was extended in 2016 for another ten years to end in 2026, at a value of million. Volleyball 2015 Pan Am Games

At the

, the venue hosted the sports of

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

in Hall A,

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

and

roller sports Roller sports are sports that use human powered vehicles which use rolling either by gravity or various pushing techniques. Typically ball bearings and polyurethane wheels are used for momentum and traction respectively, and are attached to devic ...

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

in Hall B,

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase vel ...

and

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

in Hall C and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

in the adjoining

Ricoh Coliseum Coca-Cola Coliseum (also or formerly known as CNE Coliseum, Royal Coliseum, Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto Coliseum, or Coliseum) is an arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, used for agricultural displays, ice hockey, and trade shows. ...

. Pan American Games organizers referred to the centre as the "Exhibition Centre". The building was also the location of the Main Press and Broadcasting Centre for the Games (in Hall D). In 2015, the Exhibition Place Board of Governors and the City of Toronto commissioned a study of a possible expansion of the facility. The proposed expansion would add an additional hall connected to the west end of the main building.

Design

Designed by architectural teams Zeidler Partnership Architects and Dunlop-Farrow Architects, the building officially opened on April 3, 1997, with its first show being the National Home Show. It has seven exhibit halls with of exhibition space. Four of the halls are separated by removable walls to create configurable space. Additionally, the Coliseum and Horse Palace can be integrated into an exhibition. The project cost ( in dollars). The cost was shared equally by the Toronto, Ontario and Canadian governments. Lights during 2008 CNE at the Direct Energy Centre

Lights during 2008 CNE at the Direct Energy Centre

The entire southern frontage is a long hall, linking the exhibit spaces with various offices. Most of the southern wall of the hall is glass, providing light to the entrances to the exhibit halls which have no windows. At the eastern end of the hall is a small open exhibition space, sometimes used as an art gallery, used by the CNE for cat and dog shows. At the eastern end of the hall is a "living wall." Under the main exhibit space is an underground parking garage, providing 1,300 spaces, which is connected to the Beanfield Centre in the

Automotive Building The Automotive Building is a heritage building at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, containing event and conference space. In the 1920s, as a result of burgeoning interest in automobiles, additional exhibition space for automotive exhi ...

to the south by a tunnel. Along the top of the hall at towers above entrances are four rotating spotlights which are illuminated when shows are being held at the centre. The external southern frontage differs along its length. The eastern section mimics the building style of the Automotive Building, using masonry and columns, while the western section is steel and glass, described as "flamboyant futurism". To the north of the new addition is the "Heritage Court" hall, oriented west–east, which links the Coliseum, the Annex and the new addition. It is in size. The western entrance to the complex is at the western end of the hall and serves as the main entrance to the Coliseum. The entrance is mostly glass and has a canopy extending to the west, where a canopy extends to the north, between the Horse Palace and the Coliseum, providing cover to those persons arriving from the TTC loop to the north. The original southern exteriors of the Coliseum and Industry Building, dating back to the 1920s, are preserved inside the hall. The Heritage Court is situated on the site of the TTC rail lines that separated the Coliseum and Industry buildings from the Engineering and Electrical Building. Four of the original "Statues of Industry" which adorned the facade of the Electrical and Engineering Building are mounted in the Heritage Court. The Annex building is used to store cattle and small livestock during the Winter Fair and the CNE. Judging is done in small rings within the Annex, in the Coliseum and in a temporary judging area in the new addition. The area is also used by trade shows for demonstration space.

Usage

2013 Honda Indy Toronto Exhibition Place

As well as being used as part of the

, it hosts the

annually. Trade shows such as the

Toronto International Boat Show The Toronto International Boat Show is an annual boat show held in January at the Enercare Centre, at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1959, and is the largest indoor show held in North America. The 2024 Toro ...

, the National Home Show and the One of A Kind Show are held annually in the complex. The

Grand Prix of Toronto The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series from 1986 to 2003, and then the Ch ...

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

race also uses the hall for exhibit space. The City of Toronto uses various rooms for public meetings. It has also been a staple in hosting major volleyball events, such as 2019 Volleyball Canada Nationals and the 2023 Ontario Volleyball Championships. The venue was used for Masters Toronto, the second international event of the 2025

Valorant Champions Tour The ''Valorant'' Champions Tour (VCT) is a global competitive esports tournament series for the video game ''Valorant'' organised by Riot Games, the game's developers. The series runs multiple events throughout each season, culminating in ''Va ...

season, from June 7 to 22.

Awards

* Architecture and Urban Design Awards 2000, Award: Large Place or Street

References

External links