$255M economic impact from BC Place and Convention Centre in 2022

$255-million economic impact from BC Place Stadium and Vancouver Convention Centre in 2022

BC Place Stadium (left) and Vancouver Convention Centre (right). (Pavco)

By Pavco’s own account, 2022 was a strong “close to normal” year for its tourism engine venues of BC Place Stadium and Vancouver Convention Centre.

Both venues saw the return of major events throughout the year, and it is estimated they produced a combined economic impact of $255 million over the course of this year, in terms of the spending on accommodations, food, retail, and services by event attendees and especially those who are out-of-town visitors.

A total of 428 events attracting over 1.6 million people were recorded across the two venues, but it was not until April when activity really began to ramp up, when the large-scale events returned — the full return of the BC Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s home games, and major concerts by The Weeknd, Def Leppard, Mötley Crϋe, and Elton John.

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The convention centre saw the return of the TED Conference, as well as the SIGGRAPH and Skills Canada conventions, which attracted over 10,000 attendees each, with most of the delegates being out-of-province visitors.

This year, BC Place saw 88 events attracting 715,000 visitors, while the convention centre held 340 events with an estimated attendance of 890,000.

“Pavco and its facilities are key economic and community drivers for the Province of BC,” said Ken Cretney, president and CEO of Pavco, the provincial crown corporation that owns and operates both venues.

“When we host a major event, it attracts local visitors and international attendees that generate significant sales activity for local businesses, hotels, restaurants, taxis, rideshare and tourism operators. This spending also supports the direct and indirect creation of meaningful jobs, ensuring the success of the tourism and events industry.”

New turf was installed at BC Place in January, as part of the routine replacement of the playing surface about every five years due to heavy wear and tear.

In June 2022, it was announced that Vancouver’s BC Place will be one of the 16 venues across Canada, the United States, and Mexico for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In 2025, both BC Place and the convention centre will co-host Alcoholics Anonymous’ (AA) International Convention, which is staged every five years in a new city, and estimated to attract about 50,000 delegates to Vancouver — making it the largest convention ever held in the city. It is also anticipated there will be pent-up interest for AA’s 2025 event in Vancouver due to the pandemic cancellation of their 2020 event in Detroit.

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