Red River Ex plans $140-million expansion

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This article was published 13/09/2016 (3475 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Red River Exhibition is set to embark on an ambitious $140-million development plan that calls for the construction of a small hotel, a massive expansion of its exhibition hall and doubling of the fairgrounds.

Garth Rogerson, CEO of Red River Exhibition Association, said it will likely take 30 years to completely build out the plans — but work will begin next spring.

“We’ve been working on this plan for about seven years,” Rogerson said, adding the expansion will allow the Ex to host large-scale industrial and agricultural trade shows.

“Winnipeg is the only major city in North America that doesn’t have a facility like this so all that business is going to Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto,” Rogerson said. “We’re really missing a big chunk of business. You can’t put cows downtown, you can’t put combines downtown, so all that kind of stuff is going elsewhere.

“Our plan is to build a facility that can bring that economic benefit to Winnipeg.”

Exhibition officials will present their plans at city hall Tuesday evening, which is the first step towards eventual council endorsement.

Rogerson said it appears to have support among most councillors and he hopes council will approve it before the end of the year.

Construction of a 100-room hotel — Rogerson said a major hotel operator has been lined up — and expansion of an existing office park is the first step next spring. As the development plans evolve, Rogerson said it’s possible a second hotel, designed for long stays, also might be constructed.

Rogerson said the first hotel would serve business interests in the immediate area, adding there is demand for hotel space now from clients using the nearby MTS Iceplex and users of the current agricultural hall.

The fairgrounds is currently 100 acres, but would double in size to 200 acres, Rogerson said.

Meanwhile, exhibition officials are still trying to determine how big to expand the exhibition hall. The current building is 40,000 square feet, Rogerson said, adding an expansion could vary from 60,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet.

“Right now, the 10 days of Red River Ex delivers a $16-million economic benefit to the city and we think when we’re finished the development, it will deliver over $100 million a year.”

Councillors on the Assiniboia community committee will consider the proposal Tuesday evening. Their recommendation will be forwarded to the property and development committee and ultimately council. The plan has been endorsed by the city’s planning department.

Rogerson said it will not require any infrastructure upgrades from city hall. The association will be responsible for the provision of all services to the site.

“There’s no cost to the city. Normal developments — the city would take ownership of the streets and be responsible for maintenance and snow clearing, and cutting the grass,” Rogerson said. “We do all that here. We own all the roads, all the parks. We do all the maintenance.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca