Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

MCEC
Location	South Wharf, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	37°49′32″S 144°57′15″E / 37.8256°S 144.9541°E / -37.8256; 144.9541
Owner	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust
Operator	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust
Capacity	5,541 (Plenary Hall)
Surface	70,000 m2
Construction
Opened	MEC: 14 February 1996 MCC (former): May 1990 MCC (current): 5 June 2009 Expansion: 1 July 2018
Construction cost	MEC: A$129 million MCC: A$125 million Expansion: A$205 million
Architect	MEC: Denton Corker Marshall MCC and Expansion: NH Architecture and Woods Bagot Masterplan Lead Designer: Larry Oltmanns[1]

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), colloquially referred to as Jeff's Shed, is a group of three adjacent buildings next to the Yarra River in South Wharf, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The venues are owned and operated by the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust.

Following the opening of its expansion in 2018, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre regained the status as being the largest convention and exhibition venue^[2] in Australia and one of the largest spaces in the Southern Hemisphere.

The total size of the MCEC is 70,000 square metres. The venue consists of 63 meeting rooms, outdoor courtyard spaces, a Plenary that can be divided into three self-contained acoustically separate theatres, the Goldfields Theatre a 9,000 square metre multi-purpose event space with a retractable 1,000-seat theatre and 39,000 square metres of pillarless exhibition space.

In 2017/18, 1,124 events were held at MCEC. These events attracted 950,385 delegates, including 23 international conventions involving 28,750 delegates and 34 national conventions which attracted 38,626 delegates.^[3]

In 2018/19, the MCEC contributed more than $1.10 billion in economic impact to the state of Victoria.^[4]