Courtesy: Keystone Centre
BRANDON, MB – With a total construction budget of $6 million, roughly $4.6 million was spent locally to rebuild City Square and Exhibition Hall inside the Keystone Centre. The major renovation, including demolition of the interior rooms, partial exterior demolition, new foundations, HVAC, lighting and roofs, was managed by local general contractor Crane Steel Structures in partnership with Keystone Centre management.
The project was jointly funded by the City of Brandon and Province of Manitoba and finished slightly under budget and on time, with minimal disruption to daily events within the Keystone Centre.
“Our tenants were flexible with scheduling during this time and we’re thankful for that,” said Neil Thomson, general manager, Keystone Centre. “These two rooms are right in the middle of the facility and we still needed to maintain business as usual while they were being demolished and rebuilt – it was challenging! We sealed off the rooms as best we could, scheduled noisier jobs after hours when possible and used alternative rooms for annual events, with their cooperation.”
Over 40 years ago Exhibition Hall was brought over from the Wheat City Arena (10th St and Victoria Ave) and added to City Square, which was then the curling club. The rooms were part of the original structure created to be the Keystone Centre.
The rooms’ demolition and rebuild project broke ground November 2014 and was complete December 2015, in time for the three busiest months at the Keystone Centre, January, February and March.
“City Square and Exhibition Hall are unrecognizable,” said Thomson. “They are bright and modern and have improved air quality and temperature manageability, opening them up to new types of use and making them far more comfortable for their ongoing bookings.”
City Square and Exhibition Hall are used for Manitoba Ag Days, National Arabian Show and most recently the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. Additionally, the rooms host trade show displays, trailer and larger equipment displays, agricultural stalls and warm-up rings, indoor soccer and birthday parties. The rooms can be booked by calling Keystone Centre Sales at (204) 726-3522.
About the Keystone Centre
The non-profit Keystone Centre strives to be the premier service oriented, multifunctional, community minded facility in Manitoba, hosting sporting and entertainment events, fairs and agricultural exhibitions and conferences. To learn more about the Keystone Centre visit www.keystonecentre.com
Neil Thomson
General Manager Keystone Centre
(204) 726-3506
