Brisbane Center Sees Growth Path
<B> Brisbane Center Sees Growth Path</B>
By Fred Gebhart
The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Center is feeling the first twinges of growing pains three years ahead of schedule. Just three years old, the 260,000-sq.-ft. facility already has submitted preliminary expansion plans that will increase usable meetings, convention and exhibition space by at least 50 percent. Preconstruction feasibility studies had projected an initial review of future needs for possible expansion sometime after 2001.
"Current bookings tell us that we will have capacity problems from 1999 onwards," BCEC general manager Robert O'Keeffe said. "Since our first event in May 1995, we have hosted more than 1,800 events, and almost 800 events have been booked for as far ahead as 2006."
Already billed as the largest convention center in the southern hemisphere, the BCEC occupies part of what was the Expo '88 site on the south bank of the Brisbane River. Plans call for the convention center expansion unit to replace a block of light industrial buildings between the existing BCEC and Musgrave Park, a popular neighborhood recreation area.
Rydges South Bank Hotel, a 305-room, 4-1/2 star property connected to the BCEC by a walkway, is planning its own expansion, independent of the center's plans for growth. The surrounding South Brisbane and West End neighborhoods already have kicked into a growth mode with an expanding menu of restaurants and cafes that cater to the new crowds.
One reason for the BCEC's early success is the neighborhood. Brisbane's official arts and culture precinct is directly in front of the center, with a growing roster of museums, galleries and performing arts spaces. Just south is the South Bank Parklands, 16 acres of artificial lagoons, gardens, restaurants and public entertainment facilities. Both areas are frequently used for offsite and after-hours events.
The central business district is a five-minute walk or taxi ride over the Brisbane River, with easy access to the Treasury Casino and downtown hotels. A new bridge will link the east end of the South Bank Parklands with the Queensland University of Technology and the City Botanic Gardens in 1999, adding pedestrian access to Quay West and other luxury hotels.
The rapidly expanding north end of the city center, with its new 267-room Marriott, is less than 20 minutes from the BCEC by high-speed river ferry. According to Brisbane Tourism, there are more than 10,000 rooms within a 20-minute walk of the center, with a new Radisson and other properties slated to open in 1999.
Expansion plans are ahead of schedule because Brisbane has moved more quickly than expected to pull business from Australia's existing top-of-the-line convention and exhibition facilities. Not only has Brisbane lured 20 percent more international meetings than projected, the city also has outpaced growth in Australia's vibrant domestic meetings and exhibitions market. Average occupancy at BCEC has topped 70 percent and continues to climb with repeat business as well as first-time events.
Australia has a population of just 18 million, but meetings and conventions are major business events Down Under, said Christopher Bright, sales manager for Ozaccom, a Brisbane conference accommodation and travel management firm. Annual domestic convention and exhibition attendance is equal to 38 to 40 percent of the entire population. But with only a handful of major cities and convention venues, most shows long ago settled on a regular rotation between familiar facilities in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
When BCEC opened in 1995, meeting managers leapt at the opportunity to expand their site selection possibilities. "The center has almost immediately attracted conventions that were missing Brisbane because we couldn't handle groups over 500," Bright said. "We gained a place on the rotation schedule for major domestic conventions much sooner than anyone had either projected or expected."
The competition is tougher for international business. International business development manager Tina Croker said BCEC is up against new and expanded facilities in Hong Kong, Singapore and other regional capitals as well as other Australian centers.