Headline history: Referendum on conference centre barely passed

A referendum on borrowing to build the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in downtown Nanaimo barely passed with just 52 per cent of the vote two decades ago.
On Nov. 20, 2004, the City of Nanaimo asked voters to borrow up to $30 million towards the construction of the VICC, but the issue divided the community since the city announced the referendum early in 2004.
The municipality and the supporters of building the conference centre said the project was an integral part of plans to revitalize Na