The Ottawa Convention Center

For those of you who have not yet visited the Ottawa Convention Center (OCC) you are in for a big treat.  We had our Kiwanis Club of Ottawa luncheon in the Trillium Ballroom on the top floor of the center.  The view of the Hill, the National Arts Center, the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and the Canal was spectacular.  Pat Kelly, the CEO of the OCC was the guest speaker and conducted tours followed lunch.

We have a tendency to dump on Ottawa.  We are the forgotten child in the federal and provincial governments. Most of our federal government buildings are Kremlin style architecture.  The NCC is not better when it allows an architectural monstrosity to be built on Lebreton Flats.  True, we do have some spectacular buildings such as the Museum of Civilization and the newly refurbished Museum of Nature but, by and large, the local architecture is uninspired.  Even the local private developers have had a lapse of creative initiative.  Show me one private office building that has any style or panache.

Now comes the OCC.  It is truly a signature building that was conceived, designed and largely built with local talent and materials.  Ninety five percent of the old convention center was reclaimed and much of it was used in the new building.  The building has innovative air handling systems that are extremely energy efficient and the decor has been designed so as to be unobtrusive so as not to conflict with exhibitors' colour demands.  The acoustics are phenomenal.  We were in the large hall, some 54,000 square feet, loaded with exhibitors and patrons (it was race weekend registration) and you could speak to the person next to you with ease.  The bay window with thousands of pieces of glass (none of them alike) gives the building its essential character.  The only fault that I found was that the building seems to be squeezed in between the Rideau Center and the Weston Hotel.  This building should have an imposing front space instead of adjacent cars on Colonel By Drive.  The other fault was the parking.  The parking is already at capacity between the Rideau Center and the Weston Hotel.  While existing parking did serve the old convention center, the OCC has almost double the space and therefore much more demand on parking.

Ottawa is now in the big leagues when it comes to convention facilities.  It can now compete for some of the largest meeting and convention centres worldwide.  It has already booked an impressive number of national and international meetings.  The added value to the economy of the city is also impressive.  However, there are two obstacles that could impede the success of the center.  One, is hotel rooms.  There are simply not enough hotel rooms to service very large conventions.  The other, is promotional budget.  The city has been known to be stingy with tourist development dollars.  Such stinginess could seriously hamper the OCC from mounting the kind of sales campaign that will insure its success.

 You will be proud and somewhat amazed at what this city can do when it puts its mind to it.  Thank Jim Durrell and Jackie Holtzman for having the foresight, the dream and the courage to demolish an existing facility and build a bold new one on time and on budget.  There is a Yiddish word for pride--except that it's more than pride.  The word is "kvell".  So, go and see the center. And kvell.