http://destinationstjohns.com/wp-con...CCexterior.jpg

I just noticed that picture contains the buildings that were demolised to make way for this development. Oops.

That render isn't AS bad as the ones I've seen previously. Still a tacky, suburban piece of ****... but not as bad. :)

I still think it would look much better with about triple the convention space and a 16 story tower attached.. but that's just me. We're only going to outgrow this convention center in another 5 years. I agree with jane. We need to stop selling ourselves short.

Ugh, it just looks like a cheap theater. Such a missed opportunity :(

**** it. Emailed.

Stole some references from this thread, hope you all don't mind. This is what I sent:

Good day, St. John's council,

Congratulations on a successful start to the cruise season. It was wonderful to see the Silver Whisper in town. I'm so proud to live in a city where visitors generally leave amazed.

I wanted to share, very briefly, a few of my concerns regarding the St. John's Convention Centre expansion. It's simply not good enough. All of my friends talk about how it looks like a cheap Empire Theatres. Look at the Cultural Centre Nunatsiavut is building. Look at the new Fogo Island Inn. Surely our capital can at least match those communities?

I wanted to suggest to you that we're not planning far enough ahead. Everyone I know thinks this expansion is far too small and we'll need more space in a few years.

You should dream big with this project. Why not a stunning design? With a tall hotel tower on top to share the costs?

In our own special way, we are in the big leagues now. We are worthy of the very best. We don't need to settle for a convention centre that looks like you just took it over after Danier Leather moved out. Convention centres are supposed to be showpieces.

That's all I wanted to say, just in case the thought hadn't come to mind yet.

Have a wonderful day, thank you (again) for your service,

- [SignalHillHiker]

Pomerleau. So, it's going to look like Empire Theatres and cost 3x the most recent estimate.

It's not a terrible building, but being Newfoundland's major port and largest city with our ever growing tourism industry, they really could have built something that was larger and more functional, and obviously more attractive.

Question for you guys, is the current convention centre used during cruise ship visits? I know that St. John's has no cruise ship pavillion or terminal as such, but the convention centre could function as a market for visitors to pass through where local artisans sell products to tourists. The Joan Harriss Pavillion serves that purpose in Sydney, NS but I have never heard of a similar operation in St. John's.

As far as I know, no, Trevor. But I agree it's a fantastic idea. :)

BTW - one of my friends from Stephenville is in town this weekend. You MAY know her. First name only: Glenda. She's older than you, around my age (early 30s).

Hmm, I don't think I know any Glenda around that age. But we've probably crossed paths a hundred times and never noticed each other - such is life in a mid sized town, haha.

haha we are calling Stephenville (pop: 7500) mid-sized now?

Now that you mentioned it though, a cruise ship pavilion would be fantastic! Again - place-making. A welcoming-hub. Currently, cruise ship visitors are just dumped on to a dilapidated slab of asphalt as they scatter like ants.

For Newfoundland, absolutely.

It's all about the context good sir! haha

up, in China some cities of 1,000,000 would be considered small (not a city) and in comparison, Iqaluit would be considered big in Nunavut - it's all relative

(I know, haha, obviously - I was joking)

But certainly any City with 1,000,000 people would be called a "City" - even for Chinese standards.

We should start a Facebook group calling for a design change in the Convention Centre...

The more I look at it, the more disappointed I am. It's pathetic.

what people know as the word 'city' changes as you cross languages, some languages don't have a different word for town and city, and their definitions vary. So yes as to what we consider a city, it would be a city. Then in some languages like Spanish town or 'pueblo' can mean 'people' (like we would say our people, a people) I've had many discussions about what people consider a city with people from many different countries, and it all changes. some places would only consider their capital as a city and the rest are towns for example.

it's quite interesting actually :)

Even within our own province...

Traditionally, in the British Empire, any community with an Anglican Cathedral was considered a city. It didn't matter if the population was 200 or 2 million - only communities with a cathedral were cities.

Now we seemingly define it at about 20,000 in population.

In Saskatchewan, by contrast, any community with 5,000 or more is classified as a city. Newfoundland would have a dozen or more cities if we followed the same formula.

Of course there are variations/nuances in the definitions of cities/towns/villages (however, this confusion is most common in smaller settlements) - however, rarely (in any language/culture) would a City/settlement of 1,000,000 not be considered a "City" (or the direct translation/equivalent).

Inevitably, globalization extends beyond linguistic and cultural barriers, and definitions evolve in a uniform way globally. International institutions like W.H.O. and the U.N. systematically guide the way that such terms evolve (not to mention the media), challenging cultural traditions and definitions.

There are few western (or "1st world") countries that don't differentiate between a town, a village and a city for instance. Gradually, this homogenization of cross-linguistic terminology will only accelerate as globalization and international institutions become more prominent.

That's my two cents... and alas, we're speaking American English.