Construction work has been completed on Blackpool’s new state-of-the-art Conference & Exhibition Centre and is now open to welcome delegates from across the UK and the world.
Now the largest Venue of its kind in the North, the Conference & Exhibition Centre provides 2,400sqm of event space to accommodate 2,000 visitors over two floors which, when integrated with the wider Winter Gardens complex, creates an overall delegate capacity of 7,000.
The Venue has been designed to offer complete flexibility, with it being available to book as a standalone venue offering a range of connected spaces.
The main meeting space on the first floor can be used as a single venue or split into four rooms using fully acoustic sound-blocking sliding walls to keep noise separated between spaces.
The smaller convention area on the ground floor can be similarly divided, while break-out rooms offer a glazed outlook for when delegates need to switch off.
The hyper-modern Venue also features exceptional broadband fibre connectivity, state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and environment management technology.
An undercover loading bay with capacity for two articulated trucks enables exhibits and scenery to be unloaded straight into the conference centre or onto the back of the Opera House stage, while a heavy-duty vehicle lift can carry a four-tonne fully loaded transit van to the upper floors.
With the addition of the new Conference & Exhibition Centre, the entire Winter Gardens complex provides 12 distinct venues, all under one roof, offering a total of 4.9 acres of connected conference, meeting, event and exhibition space.
Michael Williams, managing director of the Winter Gardens, said: “We are incredibly proud that our new conference and exhibition venue is one of its kind in the North. It’s a purpose-built venue that offers the latest in AV technology and event space, complemented by an expert team that will ensure any conference or exhibition hosted here is an outstanding experience for delegates.
“While the conferencing and events sector is competitive, we are already seeing a healthy demand for the new conference centre, and our pipeline of enquiries is strong.”
In March this year, the Conservative Party will be hosting its spring conference at the conference and events venue.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently visited the new Venue. He said,” ‘It’s great to see it in such fantastic shape, I think it’s brilliant. I congratulate the Winter Gardens on its investment. I think it’s going to pay off handsomely, and we look forward to coming back to Blackpool as fast as possible.’
Over the last five years, Blackpool has benefitted from £500 million being invested in the resort. It has seen three brand new purpose-built hotels being built, with more under construction or in planning, offering over 400 bedrooms of 4-star standard and above that meet business travellers’ demands and needs.
The seafront tramway has also seen significant investment in new tracks and European commuter-style trams that run alongside the resort’s world-famous heritage trams.
The next phase will see the tramway extended to Blackpool’s central rail station, ensuring a seamless transition from arrival to hotel check-in. The national rail network has also gone through a significant investment programme, which means there are direct trains from most major towns and cities.
