LEthbridge, Alberta

Experience + Results

There’s no business like large-scale events, conferences, and trade show business — and a new venue is coming to Lethbridge that will create an estimated $90 million per year in economic activity for the region.

At about 25,000 total square metres, the new Lethbridge Exhibition Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre facility is the largest development in the city’s history — it more than doubles the hosting capacity of the old exhibition centre. The new venue will be a hub for the regional partners of Canada’s Premier Food Corridor, give local producers access to new markets, showcase the world-class farm-to-table culinary experience in Lethbridge, and attract large-scale events and shows that would have previously gone elsewhere.

Thanks to the decades of planning and collaborations of engineers proudly regulated by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), this new venue will put Lethbridge on the map for big-ticket events.

Opportunity is coming to town

Blair Grier, P.Eng., APEGA member and project manager for the facility’s construction, knows how important this new building is for the Lethbridge community.

According to initial marketing studies, organizations that wanted to have their event in Lethbridge, many of which have strong ties to agriculture, were turned away with the lack of a suitable venue. This was a big missed opportunity for a community in the heartland of agriculture.

The new facility will provide the space needed to open new doors for Lethbridge producers and businesses, and it is designed to host bigger community events, trade shows and even concerts.

As Blair reflects on the project, he credits the solid foundation of partnerships and a collaborative spirit established over the years.

“This project changed my perspective on how to come together as a group and drill down on every element from estimates to designs to accomplish something that will have a major impact on the Lethbridge community,” he says.

Exceeding expectations

Blair and several other key partners on the project have been involved since the mid-2000s. The research, planning, and various iterations would eventually secure the funding needed to build, but every dollar needed to count.

“When the funding for this came through, we were elated, but also terrified,” says Blair. “Our budget worked out to just about $25 per square metre, which is unprecedentedly low for a building of this scale.”

The project team meticulously found efficient and creative ways to design a facility on budget without compromising quality or performance. For example, it chose to use a more energy-efficient temperature-control system for heating and cooling. Though it required a lot of cross-functional design savvy to integrate the system throughout the building, it was worth the extra work.

In addition to being more energy efficient, it took away the need for large, gas-fired air handling units mounted on the roof. Less weight on the roof meant fewer support posts in the space below. This translated to the ability to create one big, continuous 8,600 square-metre space when the conjoined trade halls are opened up.

“Finding a way to lessen the load on the roof was a huge challenge given the size of the space and that we needed this to be as open as possible,” says Blair. “With a wider, more open space, we can get a Garth Brooks concert in the big hall if we want to, which we couldn’t do in the old exhibition building.”

The new Lethbridge Exhibition Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre facility will take Lethbridge events to the next level and is expected to open for business on May 1, 2023.