If you build it, they will come. So goes the cliché. Modern Sydney has always known the truth of that adage. In 1973, a single building, the Sydney Opera House, transformed the city’s global image. The inflated construction costs were controversial at the time, but the subsequent income the building generates for the city — and for Australia — is incalculable. Sydney without its Opera House would be unthinkable.

Now a new iconic complex is taking shape on a 49-acre site at Darling Harbour, adjacent to the Central Business District. Supplanting the former Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour Live is intended to be the premier business events venue in the Asia Pacific region. More than AUD 2.5 billion (about $2.1 billion) is being invested in the scheme, scheduled to open in 2016. In real terms, it will cost three times more than the Opera House.

The new complex will bolster Sydney’s reputation in the MICE sector. In 2014, the city was named the world’s best festival and event city by the International Festivals & Events Association, earning the accolade for the fifth year running.

Darling Harbour Live will incorporate a 382,000-square-foot exhibition space; an international conference center with capacity for 12,000 delegates; a 53,000-square-foot outdoor events space; a ballroom for up to 2,000 people; and an 8,000-seat theater. In addition, approval has been granted for a 600-room on-site hotel that will be operated by the Accor Group under its 5-star Sofitel brand.

In return for their enormous investment, local officials are confident Darling Harbour Live will stimulate around AUD 5 billion (about $4.3 billion) in economic benefits over the first 25 years of its life.

So vital is the earning stream from the MICE sector, the city made contingencies for the hiatus between the old Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre closing for demolition and the new complex opening. In the interim, the city established a temporary Sydney Exhibition Centre at Glebe Island, only a short distance from Darling Harbour, utilizing a 215,000-square-foot structure that formerly served as the media center at the 2012 London Olympics. With one main hall that can be subdivided into five smaller venues, the facility offers enough versatility to host a wide range of exhibitions and conferences; more than 120 events are scheduled between now and 2016, when the site will be decommissioned.

In addition to the developments around Darling Harbour, Sydney boasts plenty of other first-class venues. On the North Shore (the patchwork of suburbs located across the famous Harbour Bridge from the CBD), one of the most impressive venues is the Concourse at Chatswood, a state-of-the-art complex that opened in 2011. Available spaces include a 1,000-seat concert hall; a 500-seat theater; a 5,400-square-foot exhibition hall; an orchestra rehearsal room that can also accommodate conferences or cocktail parties; and an outdoor events area.

Also on the North Shore, the world-famous Taronga Zoo provides the perfect setting for incentive outings. In addition, the Taronga Zoomobile can bring animals to corporate events — an excellent icebreaker for otherwise staid conferences or meetings.

Giraffes at Taronga Zoo, with a view of the Central Business District skyline © Steveheap | Dreamstime.com

For a touch of baronial style, the imposing sandstone manor of Curzon Hall, in the northern suburb of Marsfield (about 20 minutes from the CBD), features a range of rooms that cater to corporate meetings and events from 15 guests up to 450. Belying its medieval bearing (it was actually built in 1898), the hall boasts the latest in audiovisual facilities and dynamic lighting systems.

Farther afield, and for a complete contrast to the hurly-burly of the city, Australis Retreat at Wisemans makes the most of its rural setting an hour’s drive north of the CBD. Situated in the village of Wisemans Ferry, enfolded on three sides by a loop of the Hawkesbury River, the 54-room hotel sits within landscaped gardens with views of the river and a nine-hole golf course. Dedicated conference facilities accommodate up to 110 delegates. The hotel liaises with local companies to offer teambuilding activities, including human foosball, clay-pigeon shooting, raft building and canoeing.

Sydney owes its existence to its celebrated natural harbor (officially called Port Jackson), which reaches 11 miles inland from the Pacific coast, frayed with coves and speckled with islands. You can only get a true sense of it by taking a voyage, and with charter companies such as Vagabond Cruises, you can host a meeting or conference while on the water. With capacity for up to 350 delegates, Vagabond caters to large or small groups. The boats are equipped with all the necessary audiovisual equipment, and snacks and meals can be offered on board.

For an all-encompassing view of the harbor, STUDIO — 1,000 feet up at the top of Sydney Tower in the heart of the CBD — is the city’s highest event space and provides a spectacular panorama. The venue has capacity for up to 50 people for boardroom-style meetings or 150 in a theater-style set-up. For corporate cocktail parties, it can host up to 200.

The corporate venues of many downtown hotels also offer grandstand views of the harbor. At the Four Seasons Sydney, the main facilities occupy the lower floors, including the Grand Ballroom, accommodating up to 900 people in theater-style seating. But for exclusive, small meetings, the eight-seat boardroom on the 32nd floor features windows on the view.

The low-rise Park Hyatt Sydney is located on the dockside, with the main attractions of the upscale district, the Rocks, right on the doorstep. The hotel’s latest venue, the Guest House, has capacity for up to 60 people and features uninterrupted views across the dock to the Opera House.

The Sydney Opera House itself is available for corporate functions. Various spaces within the building, from the small Utzon Room to the theater foyers, lend themselves to the staging of particularly memorable events. And corporate group tickets can be booked for most performances in the Opera House’s various theaters and its concert hall.

The Opera House remains Sydney’s greatest draw. They built it, and we’re still coming in droves.