Take a look inside the now complete BMO Centre expansion

At long last, Calgary's BMO Centre expansion at Stampede Park is officially complete just in time for the 2024 Calgary Stampede. The $500-million project makes it the largest convention centre in Western Canada.

After six years of planning and work, the finished centre is now one complete piece of the future Culture + Entertainment District.

"We had a common goal for what we wanted to create here and we were true to thatand conscious of budget and supply chain issues all the way along," said Kate Thompson, president & CEO of the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC).

"We made hard choices and smart decisions about where to spend the money and how to spend it."

The Stampede and CMLC officials expect the 565,000-square-footexpansion to putCalgary on the mapin the convention business. According to the CMLC, over 500 conventions and events have already been booked in the space, with the very first beingthe Global Energy Show from June 11-13.

"This place is incredible," said Jyoti Gondek.

"From an economic perspective, anybody that comes here and takes part in what's happening in this space is going to go back and tell others and that's going to drive more tourism, andthat is absolutely one of the pillars of our economic success. This place is going to do marvels for us."

Calgarians can tour the expanded BMO Centre this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.during the Calgary Stampede's ENMAX Community Round Up event.

The Calgary Stampede runs from July 5-14.