MacEwan Hall ballroom closes Dec. 3 for five-month renovation

The MacEwan Hall Ballroom is closing its doors on Dec. 3 for its first complete renovation in more than 50 years. First opened in 1969, the ballroom quickly became a venue synonymous with campus life. The Students’ Union (SU) decided earlier this year that it was finally time to give the space the love and attention it deserves and are thrilled to share this sneak peek of the new space with the campus community 

More than 70 per cent of the events hosted in the space annually are organized by university units or student clubs. That means the ballroom has seen countless conferences and symposia, speakers and political leaders, banquets and galas over the years. More than anything else, though, the ballroom is renowned as one of the best venues of its size for live music in the city, largely because of its excellent sound quality. Artists as diverse as Radiohead, Sarah McLachlan, the Tragically Hip, k.d. lang, R.E.M., and Public Enemy have all graced its stage. The final band to play the ballroom prior to its closure was death metal legends Behemoth on Nov. 16. 

“Because the ballroom is a busy space that must perform well in a multitude of ways, designing the renovation required some special care and we took our time to make sure we did everything right the first time,” says Kevin Dang, the SU’s vice-president operations and finance. One example of this is the effort that went into maintaining the legendary sound quality of the space. A sound engineer was brought into the design process and many of the new finishes will maintain or enhance the acoustic properties of the ballroom.

While the basic layout of the room will be recognizable at the end of the renovation, the walls, ceiling and floor will all be torn out and replaced. Updated finishes throughout are intended to increase safety and durability. New features will include easy-to-use multi-use lighting controls, an integrated PA system for speaker events that will eliminate numerous dead spots at the back of the room, and updated structural engineering points for lighting and concert sound.

Exterior spaces adjacent to the ballroom will also be modernized, including new doorways, floor and wall finishes, and an overall improvement to the route taken up to the third floor of MacEwan Hall.

The renovation is expected to be completed by the end of the academic year. The ballroom will reopen in April 2019.