With barely three months remaining until opening day, organizers of the 2016 Halifax RV Show have announced that the event will proceed as planned thanks to a new agreement to repair the roof of its host venue.
“Master Promotions Ltd. has learned of a pending arrangement between the Nova Scotia government and a private developer that will allow operations to continue at Exhibition Park in 2016,” wrote Show Manager Scott Sprague in an October 2 email to exhibitors. “Pending ratification of this deal, the private developer has indicated immediate possible upgrades to the facility. As a result, we will be proceeding with our 2016 Halifax, NS based events.”
The Halifax RV Show, to be held at Exhibition Park from January 28 to 31 inclusive, will be followed by the Halifax International Boat Show from February 18 to 21,the Motorcycle and Powersport Atlantic show March 4 to 6, and the Nova Scotia Spring Ideal Home Show from April 1 to 3.
The Halifax RV Show is one of many major events hosted each year at Halifax’s Exhibition Park facility, located about 25 minutes from downtown and owned by the Province of Nova Scotia. As reported in our previous issue, the building was so severely damaged by storms last winter that it requires more than $9 million in repairs to its roof, which partially buckled under the weight of record-breaking snowfalls. It is money the province is loathe to invest in the 30 year-old building, especially with construction of the new Nova Centre convention facility in downtown Halifax well underway, and on schedule to open for the 2017 season.
With the lack of an alternate venue with an equivalent volume of open floor space, local event producers had been encouraging the province to either partner with a private investor to temporarily refurbish the Exhibition Park facility. Master Promotions president, Wendell Howes, had been among the most vocal proponents of a private-public sector partnership. In late September he told local media that closing Exhibition Park “will lead to the loss of millions of dollars in sales taxes to the province and revenue to the hospitality industry, not to mention a major loss in potential sales to business operators from around the Maritimes.”
