Bill Bennett – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

40 Years of Conferences40 Years of Conferences

June 10, 2025 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

This year, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) will be recognizing a significant milestone when it turns 50 on September 6. The following day will also mark a pretty big milestone; September 7 will be 40 years since the official opening of the Whistler Conference Centre.

Although construction began on the site in March 1980, an economic downturn meant that it was five years before the facility was completed and the finished product was very different from the plans of 1980. The original plan for a Resort Centre included an Olympic-sized ice rink, 3×20 metre swimming pool, whirlpool, saunas, racquetball courts, squash court, locker rooms, Golf Pro Shop, and restaurant. After the project was taken by Whistler Land Co. Developments (WLC; the Crown corporation that took over the liabilities and assets of the Whistler Village Land Company) in 1983, studies reportedly found that it would be more profitable to run the facility as a conference centre than a resort recreation centre.

Drawings of the original Resort Centre design. Whistler Question Collection, 1980

Architects Edward Friederichs and Don Jewel were brought in to design “a building within a building” and reconfigure the partially built structure into a conference facility. Although construction had previously stopped in 1982, work resumed in June 1984 when WLC hired Smith Bros. and Wilson Ltd. One of the first things they did was remove the shake roof that had been put on and replace it with a steel roof with fourteen dormers, which were reportedly meant to help distribute the snow and make the building blend in more with the rest of the Village. The project was expected to be completed by June 1985.

As the completion date approached, expectations rose that the Conference Centre would bring in more visitors during Whistler’s slow months; in May 1985, three Whistler employees told the Whistler Question that they thought the Conference Centre would “even out trade throughout the year,” especially in the fall months that were “always dead.” With the ability to host events for up to 2,000 people, the Conference Centre was one of the largest such facilities in British Columbia, topped only by the Peach Bowl in Penticton. In addition to the main ballroom area, it also boasted break-out rooms on the lower level, an attached theatre, a full-service kitchen, the offices of the Whistler Resort Association (today Tourism Whistler) and a memorable atrium.

The Conference Centre atrium set up for an event in January 1990. Insight Photography Collection, Greg Eymundson

The Whistler Conference Centre opened, as expected, in June 1985 with a performance by the Anna Wyman Dance Theatre on Saturday, June 8 followed by its first convention, a 175-delegate meeting of Fibreglas Canada, beginning on Sunday, June 9. The public was invited to look around the building in early July and, according to the editorial in the Question, “they came, they saw, and they liked.”

Though it had hosted events and meetings throughout the summer, the official opening ceremony for the Conference Centre did not take place until September 7, 1985. That weekend Whistler hosted the retreat of provincial cabinet ministers, meaning that government officials were on hand for both the opening ceremony and the tenth anniversary of the RMOW.

A meeting takes place in part of the Conference Centre ballroom. Whistler Question Collection, 1995

In his address, premier Bill Bennett told the crowd that “Today, the opening of the Conference Centre is more a tribute to your optimism, your vision, and to knowing the kind of community you want” and describing the importance of Whistler as an introduction to British Columbia. His speech was followed by remarks from Chester Johnston, the chairman of WLC Developments Ltd., who thanked those who had worked on the project. The ceremony also included a performance by the Beefeaters Brass Band and a salmon barbecue.

By the time of the official opening ceremony, the Conference Centre had 50,000 delegate-days booked in 1985 and 120,000 booked for 1986, with expectations that those numbers would grow. Today, though it looks a little different than it did at its opening, the Whistler Conference Centre continues to be operated by Tourism Whistler and welcomes conferences, meetings and events to town.

Grand Plans for Whistler Resort CentreGrand Plans for Whistler Resort Centre

March 10, 2018 Whistler Museum 8 Comments

Walking through Olympic Plaza in the winter, chances are you’ll see some people out skating on the ice. Plans for an ice rink in Whistler Village date back to the 1980s, though the original plans looked a lot different than the rink you see today.

In March 1980 construction began on the Whistler Village Resort/Recreation Centre. According to a write up in Whistler News, Summer 1980, the Resort Centre would be a “three-level, multi-purpose, indoor recreation and conference centre” or approximately 72,000 square feet (the Whistler Conference Centre today is somewhere over 40,000 square feet). The proposed budget for the project was in the $5.5 to 5.8 million range with funding provided by the Province of British Columbia in the form of a TIDSA (Travel Industry Development Subsidiary Agreement), the Recreation Facility Assistance and the Whistler Village Land Company. This budget did not include operating costs.

What could have been: An artist’s rendering of the proposed Whistler Resort Centre, 1980. Whistler Question Collection.

The list of anticipated recreation activities that would have been housed in the Resort Centre is extensive. Plans included a 20,000 sq. ft. Olympic-sized ice rink, a 3 x 20 metre swimming pool, a whirlpool, saunas, four racquetball courts, a squash court, locker room facilities, the Golf Pro Shop for the Whistler Golf Course, and even a restaurant.

Located on the top floor, the restaurant and lounge area would seat 320 people and “provide guests with views of the ice-skating and swimming activities as well as the surrounding mountain landscape.”

The plans for the lower level of the Resort Centre. Whistler Question Collection.

Many of the proposed facilities were multi-use. A system of interlocking insulated panels meant that in just under four hours the ice rink could be transformed to either carpeting or astroturf to host banquets, staged performances, tennis matches or basketball games. The Golf Pro Shop would be transformed in the winter months into a cross-country skiing centre.

When a recession hit North America and Whistler in late 1981 the Resort Centre, like much of the Village, was still under construction. With the economy failing, real estate sales falling and interest rates climbing above 20%, the Whistler Village Land Company found themselves with debts of almost $8 million, liabilities coming to $30 million, and assets in the form of land that nobody wanted to buy.

The Resort Centre under construction, along with the rest of the Whistler Village. Eldon Beck Collection.

In January 1983 the provincial government under Premier Bill Bennett stepped in and formed Whistler Land Co. Developments, a Crown corporation to take over the liabilities and assets of the Whistler Village Land Company. Chester Johnson, a Vancouver businessman, was chosen by Bennett to chair the board of this new Crown corporation and take over the development of Whistler Village.

Before the building could be reconstructed some of it had to be deconstructed. Whistler Question Collection, 1984.

One of the decisions made by Johnson was to reconstruct the Resort Centre as a conference centre without all of the extra recreational facilities. A convention business consultant and a Los Angeles architectural company were brought in to convert the Whistler Village Resort/Recreation Centre to the Whistler Conference Centre, a year-round facility meant to attract conventions and visitors to the resort. Work was well underway on the Whistler Conference Centre by the end of 1984 and was completed by 1986, with no ice rink in sight. Whistler wouldn’t get an indoor ice rink until 1993 with the opening of the arena at the Meadow Park Sports Centre.

The SoCreds Party in Whistler!The SoCreds Party in Whistler!

July 29, 2016 Whistler Museum 3 Comments

Thirty years ago, Whistler was at the centre of the BC political universe. During the week culminating in July 30th 1986, the provincial Social Credit Party held their leadership convention here, as they sought to find a replacement for outgoing party leader Bill Bennett.

The Whistler Driving Range was transformed into a political fair grounds, where leadership hopefuls could promote their political brand.

The Socreds, as the party was commonly known, had a close connection to the nascent resort. Although the initial decisions to create the RMOW, develop skiing on Blackcomb, and build a tourism-specific village at the base of the mountains had been made during the 1972-1975 reign of the NDP, the Socred’s ideological opposites and bitter rivals, the Socreds (to many people’s surprise) continued to support Whistler Village when they regained power in 1975.

Most notably, this included assuming provincial control of a heavily indebted Whistler Village Land Company in 1983. Without that decision, Whistler Village would be a very different place than it is today. At major political risk, the Socreds had hitched their wagon to Whistler Village.

The buzz in Village Square was inescapable.

In 1986, with Whistler Village construction completed and the resort experiencing rapid growth and approaching economic stability, it was the perfect venue to highlight one of the Socred’s major successes in governance.

The carnivalesque atmosphere on the Whistler Village driving range during the 1986 SoCred Leadership convention. Photo by Dave Steers.

In typical fashion, Whistler locals made sure to apply their own interpretation of the term “political party.” As local photographer Dave Steers recalls:

What became evident rather quickly to Whistlerites was that the convention offered interesting eating and drinking opportunities. Many of the would-be leaders didn’t seem to mind wining and dining the locals in town and, not surprisingly, full advantage was taken.

Tapley’s regulars could be found schmoozing with delegates over bar-b-q’d bison burgers. Citta’s patio-dwellers migrated to the driving range to trade political views and and down beers with the movers and shakers of the Social Credit party. It made for some interesting exchanges.

A kind of poster war developed in the village. Rumour had it that local eateries were selling walls and pillars to candidates who would then paste their campaign posters onto them. A pillar in the right location was rumoured to be worth over a thousand dollars.

villagepolitics — Village Square was turned into a central convention space and outdoor billboard for all of the contenders (at least those that could afford the temporary real estate for their signs).

In the end, Bill Vander Zalm won the convention and assumed leadership of the party, overcoming rivals Grace McCarthy and Brian Smith, among others. Notably, the 12th and last place finisher was none other than future Prime Minister of Canada Kim Campbell.

The 1986 convention was widely regarded as a successful and energizing political event, and Vander Zalm initially enjoyed high approval ratings as BC Premier. Thankfully, however, Whistler’s fortunes weren’t tied to the Socred brand, as Vander Zalm was forced to resign due to a controversial conflict-of-interest case in 1991, and the ultimate decline of the Social Credit Party followed soon after.

Here in Whistler, meanwhile, the party never stopped.