Crown Conference Centre Opens

Victoria's reputation as a leading destination for business events continues to grow with the recent opening of the expanded $33 million Crown Conference Centre at Southbank.
Victorian Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding, who also inspected progress of the new Crown Metropol hotel, said the tourism asset is a significant vote of confidence in Victoriaâs tourism industry.
Minister Holding explained âMelbourne has the greatest share of the lucrative business events industry in Australia and we are now ranked alongside some of the worldâs top convention cities including Beijing, Singapore and Dubai.
âMajor projects like the Crown Conference Centre deliver jobs and provide a significant boost to our economy. This will also be a great addition to Melbourneâs tourism infrastructure and further boost our competitive edge to attract business events and conferences.
âCrownâs ongoing investment in tourism infrastructure shows the confidence the private sector has in Melbourne as a world-class tourist destination.
âBusiness events and conferences are great for the wider tourism industry. Our research shows business visitors spend five to six times more than leisure tourists with many also visiting our regional attractions including the Great Ocean Road and the Yarra Valley.�?
The new Centre caters for conferences of up to 840 delegates with 20 concurrent rooms, all on one site. The Promenade Room will accommodate up to 600 guests when configured as a theatre.
More than 1,100 people were employed during construction and 20 positions have been created at Crown as a direct result of the completion of the Crown Conference Centre.
Minister Holding said Crown was already seeing fielding interest in business events from overseas, interstate and around Victoria.
The Crown Conference Centre compliments the $1.4 billion convention precinct which includes significant retail and infrastructure as well as the new Melbourne Convention Centre which opened mid last year.