Crystal Garden reopened as part of the Victoria Conference Centre in 2008, and in its 10 years as an event space has hosted 295 events, and over 265,000 attendees.
“Crystal Garden is a popular, well-utilized event space,” said Paul Nursey, CEO of Destination Greater Victoria in a statement. “It is an integral component of our strategy for attracting meetings, events and conference business and is a major reason why we have seen 30 per cent growth year-to-date in the number of delegates this year over last year.”
Some of the larger events include the Union of BC Municipalities Convention, Capital City Comic Con, and the first National Cannabis Conference.
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The historical building first opened as a saltwater pool in 1925, and stayed open until 1971. In 1980, the interior housed a tropical garden and conservation centre.
In 2008, the Garden joined with the Victoria Conference Centre, hosted by the Fairmont Empress Hotel.
“I am so pleased that the City had the foresight in 2007 to invest in this wonderful heritage building as an expansion space to the Victoria Conference Centre to attract international conferences to Victoria,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps in a statement. “Over the last decade, the Crystal Garden has also become the choice venue for a number of signature community events and provides a fantastic experience for conference attendees year after year.”
Since its addition, the Conference Centre has brought thousands of visitors to the city.