News

PRESS RELEASE

August 14, 2008

New Facility to Set Standard for Conference Industry in Canada

 

August 12, 2008, Mississauga, Ontario: After 35 years of being host to many of Canada's largest and most popular events, the International Centre is ready to open the doors of their new Conference Centre and state of the art kitchen.  The 48,000 sq.ft. expansion offers elegant, single-level event space, superior service, inspired catering and endless event options.

 

“The International Centre’s expansion is in response to a need for more versatile and stylish space combined with exceptional cuisine,” says Michael Prescott, C.E.O.  “The new Conference Centre will have a comfortable yet modern feel complete with all the latest technology, raising the bar for meeting space and culinary excellence within our industry.”

 

The new Conference Centre will be completed in September 2008 and is uniquely built to accommodate both intimate gatherings and large corporate meetings.  Offering an expansive ballroom and reception lobby, the Conference Centre’s 15 multi-purpose breakout rooms of varying sizes can meet the needs of any client. With many different ways to manipulate the space, this may be the most versatile meeting / ballroom / conference space available in the Greater Toronto Area. 

 

A complement to the flexibility of the space is the Conference Centre’s advanced technological capabilities. The International Centre has selected AVW-TELAV as their official audio visual services provider, incorporating excellent rigging points and a number of high-quality built-in AV components. These include screens, projectors and extensive lighting options, enabling the Conference Centre to handle the AV requirements for any events.  There are 19 LCD screens strategically placed within the new facility as well as
wi-fi and satellite capabilities throughout.

 

“The versatility of our space was very important to us.  We wanted to keep it simple and elegant so that our events can create their own look and feel,” says Trevor Lui, Director of Food & Beverage.  “But just as important was the quality of our culinary services. 
We can create state-of-the-art restaurant-style cuisine that can be perfectly prepared for twenty-five, or twenty-five hundred guests, with each plate having as much colour, texture and flavour as you would experience in a high-end dining room.”   

 

Combined with this expansion is the company’s initiative to launch its first ever in-house Food & Beverage department.  Led by innovative Executive Chef Joe Levesque and his outstanding culinary team, clients will enjoy first-class catering paired with the finest service.

 

The Conference Centre boasts a new 8,000 sq. ft. kitchen offering the most advanced cooking, chilling and serving equipment on the market.  This revolutionary technology allows for unparalleled food service flexibility, perfect for the large variety of events expected in the new Conference Centre. This flexibility will also benefit the facility’s current clients who occupy the existing 500,000 square feet of exhibit hall and meeting space.  Many of the elements of the kitchen have wireless, remote-activated communication devices installed, allowing staff to log on and monitor the ovens and freezers from anywhere.

 

The Conference Centre will host events that leave a lasting impression: one of a comfortable, versatile environment accommodating a variety of functions and tastes, while seamlessly blending with the International Centre’s existing facilities.

 

The Numbers

 

• The Ballroom is 17,000 square feet, divisible into a total of four sections of approximately 4,200 square feet each, with two end sections further dividing into three smaller breakout rooms of approximately 1,400 square feet each.
• There are two separate meeting rooms adjacent to the Ballroom on either side. One meeting room is 2,028 square feet and the other meeting room is 2,900 square feet. Both rooms are divisible into two smaller sections. There are also three smaller meeting rooms offering approximately 200 to 500 square feet of more intimate space.
• The 11,000 square foot lobby and pre-function space is perfect for meeting breaks or cocktail receptions.

 

About the International Centre

 

Since opening in 1972, the International Centre has steadily grown to over 10 times its original size, consistently satisfying the needs of an exploding population base and the growing influx of Canadian and multi-national corporations in the surrounding area. 
The new Conference Centre is scheduled for occupancy in late September 2008, and is expected to immediately boost annual foot traffic for the International Centre’s trade and consumer shows to 2.25 million people, an impressive 12.5% increase over their current annual attendance.

 

The International Centre is the leading trade and consumer show venue in North America, and one of Canada’s largest privately owned multi-purpose conference facilities.
The Centre boasts 36 years of success hosting trade and consumer shows; the mainstay of its business.  Located at 6900 Airport Road, offering free parking for as many as 5,000 vehicles, and surrounded by more than 10,000 hotel rooms, the International Centre is easily accessible from any point in the Greater Toronto Area and especially for business travelers who arrive at Pearson International Airport, just minutes away.
The International Centre is truly ‘at the Centre of great events’.

 

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For more information and for facility photos:

 

Stacie Smith

Public Relations

416-910-8112 or stacie@smithcommunications.ca

 

Richard Swayze

Director of Business Development

International Centre

906-677-6131 x.132 or rswayze@internationalcentre.com