Canterbury Park Expo Center Opens Thursday
Shakopee, MN - The Canterbury Park Expo Center, a newly constructed 30,000 square foot structure designed for special events, trade shows and exhibits, opens Thursday with a 3:30 p.m. ribbon cutting followed by its first event, an Indian Market featuring Native American arts and crafts.
The Expo Center increases the Shakopee, Minn. entertainment destination’s available event space to more than 100,000 square feet, making it one of the largest exhibit spaces in the Twin Cities. Canterbury Park operates a card casino, a seasonal horse racing meet, and hosts several concerts in its Festival Fields, as well the Midwest’s largest craft show and other special events, attracting more than 1 million visitors annually.
“The Canterbury Park Expo Center greatly increases the number of special events we can host year round,” company president Randy Sampson said. “We will now be able to host multiple events simultaneously where in the past we were restricted by available space. Our first event, the Indian Market, is a perfect example of the synergy that can be created between events and live horse racing. This week we feature Indian Horse Relay and the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby, which will attract several thousand fans over the final three days of the racing season, offering great exposure for the Indian Market.”
Canterbury recently hired Michael Meyer as its Director of Business Development. Several new events are already scheduled for the $2.5 million facility including a sports memorabilia show, the Twin Cities’ Women’s Expo, the Great Train Expo, and mixed martial arts events.
“The new expo center will give Canterbury Park one of the premier exposition spaces in Minnesota and unlocks the opportunity to integrate events with live horse racing hospitality and sponsorship opportunities to gives businesses and brands a multi-dimensional event and marketing solution,” said Meyer. “This will truly offer a one-of-a-kind opportunity in our market for Canterbury Park’s event partners.”
The Canterbury Park Expo Center, designed by Out Of The Box Architecture of Lake Elmo, Minn., features a 120 foot clear span joist system with 24,000 square feet of unobstructed assembly space and 6,000 square feet of entry area, offices, restrooms and storage. The spire and the round entrance door features are designed to be consistent with the existing architecture of the grandstand built in 1985.
The Indian Market opens immediately after the ribbon cutting ceremony. Hours of operation Thursday and Friday are 4 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Indian Market is free on Thursday and Friday until the gates open for live horse racing at 5:00 p.m. Live racing general admission prices apply after 5:00 p.m. Sept. 11 through 13 are the final days of the 2014 live horse racing season at Canterbury Park. The public is invited to attend the grand opening ceremony.
The Expo Center increases the Shakopee, Minn. entertainment destination’s available event space to more than 100,000 square feet, making it one of the largest exhibit spaces in the Twin Cities. Canterbury Park operates a card casino, a seasonal horse racing meet, and hosts several concerts in its Festival Fields, as well the Midwest’s largest craft show and other special events, attracting more than 1 million visitors annually.
“The Canterbury Park Expo Center greatly increases the number of special events we can host year round,” company president Randy Sampson said. “We will now be able to host multiple events simultaneously where in the past we were restricted by available space. Our first event, the Indian Market, is a perfect example of the synergy that can be created between events and live horse racing. This week we feature Indian Horse Relay and the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby, which will attract several thousand fans over the final three days of the racing season, offering great exposure for the Indian Market.”
Canterbury recently hired Michael Meyer as its Director of Business Development. Several new events are already scheduled for the $2.5 million facility including a sports memorabilia show, the Twin Cities’ Women’s Expo, the Great Train Expo, and mixed martial arts events.
“The new expo center will give Canterbury Park one of the premier exposition spaces in Minnesota and unlocks the opportunity to integrate events with live horse racing hospitality and sponsorship opportunities to gives businesses and brands a multi-dimensional event and marketing solution,” said Meyer. “This will truly offer a one-of-a-kind opportunity in our market for Canterbury Park’s event partners.”
The Canterbury Park Expo Center, designed by Out Of The Box Architecture of Lake Elmo, Minn., features a 120 foot clear span joist system with 24,000 square feet of unobstructed assembly space and 6,000 square feet of entry area, offices, restrooms and storage. The spire and the round entrance door features are designed to be consistent with the existing architecture of the grandstand built in 1985.
The Indian Market opens immediately after the ribbon cutting ceremony. Hours of operation Thursday and Friday are 4 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Indian Market is free on Thursday and Friday until the gates open for live horse racing at 5:00 p.m. Live racing general admission prices apply after 5:00 p.m. Sept. 11 through 13 are the final days of the 2014 live horse racing season at Canterbury Park. The public is invited to attend the grand opening ceremony.
