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The new expansion foyer of MCEC (Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre) filled with numerous people standing and mingling.
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MCEC’s New Expansion to Reshape the Event Experience

By Laura Chodowski|

There’s been a flurry of activity at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) $200 million expansion site, with remarkable progress being made during 2017.

There’s been a flurry of activity at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) $200 million expansion site, with remarkable progress being made during 2017.

The 20,000-square-metre expansion includes 9,000 square metres of flexible, multi-purpose event space, new exhibition halls, additional meeting rooms, a banquet room and the Goldfields Café and Bar.

Once completed, the new space will cement MCEC’s position as the largest convention and exhibition space in Australia, with an increased total size of over 70,000 square metres.

Set to open mid-year, the new space has been architecturally designed to provide customers with more options for any event type; from meetings and conferences through to educational seminars or gala dinners.

Works completed by late February include: the installation of the central staircase, distinctive gold exterior panels and a skylight over the new foyer space, a significant architectural feature of the building.

Man walking across open foyer at MCEC (Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre) with lots of natural light streaming in through the large windows.

MCEC Chief Executive, Peter King said customer experience was front of mind when planning the design.

“We want to ensure our facilities suit the needs of our customers, rather than constraining them to fit within our space. A multi-purpose area with a retractable 1,000 seat theatre and adaptable meeting rooms are just two of the many flexible features throughout the new building,” Mr King said.

“I look forward to officially opening the new space later this year.”

MCEC took inspiration from Victoria’s rich history in determining names for key spaces within its expansion. The greatest inspiration came from the gold colour of the expansion’s exterior, culminating in Victoria’s goldfields becoming the theme from which names would be drawn.

From the Goldfields Theatre, Sovereign Room, Eureka Rooms and Goldfields Café and Bar, the names link to the goldfields of Victoria’s past having been a place for people to gather along with a period of new opportunities, ideas, prosperity and grandeur.

The expansion is part of a larger South Wharf expansion project that includes a new 347-room Novotel Melbourne South Wharf and a new 1,150-space multi-level car park – all fully connected and integrated with existing buildings. The multi-level car park is complete, and the new hotel will open in March. Victorian Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Hon. John Eren said the expansion will cement Melbourne as the business events capital of Australia.

"Our expansion is an absolute game changer – we’re talking three and a half MCGs of new space to attract more events and thousands more visitors to Victoria,” Minister Eren said.

“Not only will this redevelopment boost tourism, it will also create more than 900 new jobs and provide a massive boost to our local economy each year.”