Looking for an event space in Toronto to host a large meeting or event? Here's a look at 10 new and renovated venues—including convention centers, ballrooms, meeting rooms, banquet halls, auditoriums, conference rooms, clubs, and more—with a capacity for big events.
The International Centre is undergoing a $4.5 million renovation slated to wrap up this fall. The improvements include a renovated main entrance to Hall 1 that itself can be used for events, plus a new connection between Hall 4 and Hall 5 that can be used for registration, receptions, booths and displays, and lounge areas for food and beverage. All exterior main entrance and hall signage will be replaced with colour LED screens. The 100,000-square-foot Hall 5 is the largest single space at the International Centre. The column-free room has a capacity of 7,020 for a banquet or 572 trade show booths. In total, the International Centre has more than 500,000 square feet of exhibition space.
Massive club Muzik has added new spaces ideal for summer events to its Exhibition Place complex. Muzik Beach is a patio that can hold 5,300 guests, and other new options include Muzik Bier Garden and Muzik Park, where the club hosts preordered picnics under trees on its lawn. Food Dudes have created custom menus for each location. The 41,000-square-foot club also has a new V.I.P. space, the Grey Goose Lounge, a 35-person room with its own distinctive design and cocktail menu designed by a mixologist from the vodka brand.
The former Delta Chelsea has been reflagged and converted to Eaton Chelsea, a four-star brand from Langham Hospitality, effective July 1. The 1,600-room hotel—Canada's largest—will see renovations to its event space, lobby, and two food and beverage outlets, and the brand will install its trademark "Green Wall."
The Sheraton Centre Toronto recently renovated and expanded its meeting and event space. It now has 60 meeting spaces, including the 20,212-square-foot Grand Ballroom. The ballroom can accommodate as many as 3,500 guests for a reception or 1,900 for a banquet.
Next to the iconic CN Tower downtown, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is set to open in September. Attractions include more than 13,500 exotic sea and freshwater creatures, a 96-metre moving walkway through an acrylic tunnel below the 2.84 million-litre Shark Lagoon, a tropical reef tank, and the Marine and Freshwater Education Centre. The $130 million facility will include several event spaces, although organizers are still finalizing capacity details.
A combination of Halls A, B, C, and D makes the Direct Energy Centre Toronto’s largest continuous space at 358,433 square feet. Home to a number of annual trade shows, like the National Home Show and International Boat Show, the combined halls have a capacity of 12,687. In 2014, HK Hotels plans to open a new 400-room hotel adjacent to Allstream Centre and Direct Energy Centre.
The Metro Toronto Convention Centre, home to some of the largest trade shows and galas in the city, recently completed a $29 million renovation, adding two meeting rooms and upgrades to existing spaces. Halls A, B, and C in the North Building make up the largest column-free space in the downtown venue, at 182,000 square feet. The space can accommodate 10,570 for a reception or 10,400 for a banquet.
With more than one million square feet of space, including a new ballroom, the Toronto Congress Centre is a popular spot for large-scale events. Halls H, I, and J, when combined, offers 192,525 square feet of continuous space. The space can host 8,500 guests for a banquet.
The newest addition to the Mill Street Brew Pub, the Beer Hall seats 400 and can accommodate 590 reception-style. Available for private and semiprivate events with a customizable menu from Top Chef Canada contestant Elizabeth Rivasplata, the space features a 221-seat communal-style patio that can be covered and heated in the winter months and Mill Street Bierschnaps on draft. When combined, the pub and hall can hold more than 1,000 people for events.
