A massive expansion is being planned for the BMO Centre at Stampede Park and officials say the $500M renovation will allow more international events to be hosted here.

The Stampede and Calgary Municipal Land Corporation signed an agreement to collaborate on a master plan for the park and that includes an overhaul of the BMO Centre.

“This is the continuing evolution of our 2015 master plan that was endorsed by council and the community but this expansion is significant because it takes the BMO Centre from being a tier-two facility to a tier-one facility,” said Stampede CEO Warren Connell.

Connell says the current facility is not adequate to attract some of the bigger international events to Stampede Park.

“Right now we have a number of events that are international or regional and they can’t come to Calgary simply because of the facilities. We have an awesome airport so the lift is great, we have a great cultural, arts and entertainment industry, we have a world-class volunteer base so we have all the elements you need to be a successful tier-one city but we don’t have the facilities. The BMO expansion will actually give Calgary those facilities and in fact, give Alberta those facilities,” he said.

The project is expected to cost about $500M and will double the size of the BMO Centre, taking it from just under 500,000 sq. feet to just under one million when it’s completed.

“BMO will double in size. The majority of that doubling will actually be with ballrooms and additional facilities that really help bring that international market to Calgary and of course that’s all new markets, that’s not taking away from anybody else, that’s simply new business, leisure, tourism and convention,” said Connell.

Stampede officials say the construction phase will be about four years and it will create 1800 construction and 500 full-time jobs.

Connell says the new facility is a win-win for the city and the Stampede and it will boost the economy.

“We’ll be generating almost $87M to Canada’s GDP, just over $70M to Alberta’s economy, so it’s a significant piece of the diversification plan for both the city and the province,” he said. “I think this is moving Calgary into the next level of tourism and convention abilities. I think Calgary is poised to take advantage of it. We have a number of international events that have already come to Calgary and spent significant dollars because they want to be here.”

A few of the older facilities will have to go to make room for the new and improved event space.

“Boyce, Corral and the original Hall A would all be removed and in its place would be three new halls as well as two floors of break-out and ballroom facilities.”

Some businesses near Stampede Park say the expansion will also boost their bottom line.

“We already see great returns from the car shows, Grape Escape, even the comic book festival, the Comic Expo, it’s one of the biggest in North America, so maybe they can expand, get bigger and it’s good for business for sure,” said Darren Moulds, Owner Vagabond Brewery and Restaurant.

The Stampede is talking with government about funding for the project and says the BMO Centre will stay open during the construction phase.

“Currently we’re dealing with all three levels of government and understanding their needs as well, public assembly facilities are usually funded through tax dollars or through the governments, our expectation would be that we deal with our government partners on what makes sense for them. The one benefit to the BMO Centre is that we don’t receive any annual operating subsidy from any level of government, we actually self-fund it and that’s unique in Canada,” said Connell.

Canada currently has three tier-one facilities in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver and Connell says the new centre would be the second largest tier-one facility in Canada when it is completed.