First - I am sure the Vancouver convention centre didn't cost $1 Trillion. Hahha - I am guessing this was a type-o.
I don't know much about convention culture but at the same time, a larger convention centre can just accommodate larger conventions. Of course, hotel capacity needs to be in tune with the scale of the centre, which is the real limiting factor.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...tre-final.html
Halifax new centre will cost more than $500 million. haha St.John's isn't out of competitive range with Halifax. Just an FYI - let's stop selling ourselves short.
If Halifax can compete with the big cities, then for damn sure so can we.
Moreover, it's within a $50 million budget to have some architectural charisma. Absolutely. Moreover, it's an investment. It can be iconic and monumental, just as public buildings should be and a more magnificent building will attract even more conventions.
This is about City Image and how we want to project ourselves to outsiders' perceptions. Apparently, retro-90s-style-cheap-big-box-store architecture is that image. haha