West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a large shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, and the 29th largest in the world (tied with Fashion Island and the Dubai Mall) by gross leasable area. It is the second largest shopping mall, by square footage, in North America behind the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Mall of America encompasses and West Edmonton Mall encompasses . By store count, West Edmonton Mall tops all in the Western Hemisphere as it currently counts over 800 occupants, in comparison to Mall of America's 520 occupants. The mall was founded by the Ghermezian brothers, who emigrated from Iran in 1959.
West Edmonton Mall has over 800 stores and services including nine attractions, two hotels and over 100 dining venues in the complex, and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 24,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives about 32 million visitors per year; it attracts between 90,000 and 200,000 shoppers daily, depending on the day and season.
History 1959–1981: Planning and construction West Edmonton Mall was conceived by the Ghermezian family, who had emigrated from Iran to Canada in 1959, establishing a successful rug business in Montreal known as the Ghermezian Bros. on Sherbrooke Street. The company became the largest importer of oriental rugs in the mid-1960s, being featured in 16 states across North America. The Ghermezians relocated to Edmonton, Alberta in 1964, with the goal of financing the high oil economy in the province. Then, in 1965, Jacob Ghermezian, alongside his brothers (Eskandar, Nader, Raphael, and Bahman) founded Ghermez Developments, Ltd. and relocated to Ottawa in the late 1960s, where they proposed West Edmonton Mall. The company became the Triple Five Group in 1973, with the Ghermezians envisioning a "retail Disneyland"—a mixed-use complex that combined shopping with massive entertainment facilities—which was a concept virtually unknown in North America at the time.
In the mid-1970s, the Ghermezian family purchased large tracts of agricultural land on the outskirts of Edmonton, located in the neighborhood of Summerlea. The provincial government established a "transportation and utility corridor" (a ring road zone) around the city. The Ghermezians owned key parcels within this zone, and although they could not develop this specific restricted land, they sold it back to the provincial government in 1979 for a massive profit—approximately $18million. This capital was directly funneled into financing the construction of West Edmonton Mall, which would feature 225 tenants.
Getting the proposal approved, however, was challenging, as the site selected was zoned for residential use, not a megamall. City planning staff initially opposed the rezoning, preferring typical suburban housing. The developers leveraged the fierce rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary, nicknamed Battle of Alberta. They effectively argued that if Edmonton did not approve the project and grant concessions, they would simply build the mall in Calgary instead. Fearing the loss of such a massive economic engine to their rival, the Edmonton City Council was forced to approve the necessary zoning changes and land swaps for the project. Due to the sheer scale of the project, Triple Five Group announced that West Edmonton Mall would be developed in phases, with the initial build starting construction in 1979.
Grand opening and early years
Phase I of West Edmonton Mall had its grand opening celebration to the public on September 15, 1981. The mall was developed in four phases, completed in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1999. It was the largest indoor shopping centre in the world until 2004, and was named such in the Guinness Book of Records. The four phases of construction are used in a colour-coded system as a guideline for finding stores and attractions. The indoor roller coaster, The Mindbender had a fatal accident on 14 June 1986 when one of the rear cars derailed from the track and slammed into a nearby concrete pillar. Three people died and one was injured in the accident.
On 23 December 2000, a 22-year-old man drowned in a recreational lagoon. A man matching his description was seen swimming at about 2:30 am as the nearby drinking establishments had closed, though a second security check did not find anyone in the lagoon area. The man's body was found around 10:30 am later that morning, fully clothed except for his shoes and jacket, which were never located. He is believed to have accidentally drowned while under the influence of drinking alcohol and cannabis.
On 11 July 2004, the mall suffered millions of dollars in damage when a severe storm of hail and rain caused roofs to fail and drains to overflow. The Ice Palace and surrounding sections were the most damaged, and the World Waterpark had a sewage overflow. The damage was promptly repaired.
Construction on a total renovation of the mall shopping areas through all the phases began in the spring of 2011. The 'face lift' included the renovation of all mall common areas, which started in Phase I and finished in Phase IV. The most notable upgrades included the retrofit of an existing water fountain into choreographed musical dancing fountains, hanging décor of ceramic roses in the Rose Court near the Victoria's Secret (these are no longer there) and glass oil droplets around the Oilmen statue outside the Phase I Food Court. Most of the renovations were completed in 2014; however, some areas of the mall continued construction, such as Park Lane and Chinatown.
In 2017, the mall announced that the Ice Palace would undergo a renovation, retrofitting it with the latest technologies including modern lighting and sound. The Ice Palace closed in mid-2017 and reopened in December. Later in mid 2018, the mall announced that the World Waterpark would undergo renovations worth $2.5 million in September 2018. All upgrades have since been completed.
In 2021 local car dealership Mayfield Toyota made their move to the mall and rebranded as West Edmonton Mall Toyota, which is the world's largest full-service in-mall dealership. The dealership is in the main floor of the old Sears retail space in Phase I. It includes 65 service bays, a detailing centre, and a three-aisle drive-through that intersects the entire mall.
Since 2018, the mall has focused on adding several high-end retailers including Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Moose Knuckles, Moncler and Louis Vuitton.
In 2021, the mall added huge LED screens over the Deep Sea Adventure lake and Ice Palace to promote advertisements for stores, restaurants, and attractions in and around the mall.
World records Current West Edmonton Mall world records include;
World's largest indoor lake – Deep Sea Adventure Lake World’s largest indoor wave pool – World Waterpark World’s tallest indoor permanent bungee tower (no longer in use but still there) – World Waterpark World's largest parking lot with more than 20,000 spaces, and over 10,000 overflow spaces. – WEM's parking lot World’s largest full-service in-mall dealership – WEM Toyota
Other records (past)
World's largest indoor shopping mall (until 2004) World's tallest indoor roller coaster – the Mindbender Most bungee jumps in 24 hours record while indoors was set by Peter Charney, on 6–7 November 2007 at the World Waterpark, completing 225 jumps.
Major attractions
Galaxyland Powered by Hasbro
Galaxyland was originally known as "Fantasyland"; however, during a court battle with the Walt Disney Company, West Edmonton Mall changed the park's name to Galaxyland in July 1995 after completing major renovations. It undertook a complete redesign from the original theme, old Victorian fantasy, to a galactic space theme. It is an indoor amusement park on the north side of the mall and is the second-largest indoor amusement park in the world, behind Ferrari World, and features 24 rides and attractions. There are eight beginner rides, nine intermediate rides and seven thrill rides. The latest attraction in Galaxyland is Havoc, which opened in 2018. Management closed Drop of Doom in the early 2000s. The tower area was replaced shortly after by a more modern launch ride, the Space Shot, a S&S Double Shot Tower Ride. In late 2019, the park announced a new partnership with Hasbro, with several rides and attractions being rebranded with Hasbro toy brands. The renovation was scheduled to finish by winter 2020, and eventually had its grand opening as Galaxyland Powered by Hasbro on 17 December 2022. The Mindbender rollercoaster was decommissioned in January 2023 after 37 years of service.
World Waterpark
The World Waterpark is the world's 4th-largest indoor waterpark, built in 1985, with a size of . The park has the world's largest indoor wave pool. The highest slides in the park are the Twister and Cyclone, which are each high.
The wave pool has six wave bays, each with two panels with a total of , generating waves up to two metres high.
In 2018–2019, the waterpark underwent a $2.5 million renovation. The renovations included new paint jobs to the Corkscrew slide, the handrails, and the Blue Thunder Wave Pool. Bathrooms were introduced to a more convenient location, as well as a rooftop balcony on top of the bathrooms for social gatherings. A hot dog stand, Tiki Dog, was added.
Ice Palace
Ice Palace is a scaled-down version of a National Hockey League (NHL) regulation-sized ice rink in the centre of the mall. The Edmonton Oilers occasionally practised at the Ice Palace during the 1980s. The Oilers' contract for using the rink has since expired. The rink is used for various hockey and other sporting tournaments. Each summer the Ice Palace is host to the Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament, featuring top hockey players aged 10 and under from across North America. Multiple future NHL stars have played in the tournament, including Mathew Barzal, Cole Caufield, Mitch Marner, Macklin Celebrini, among others. In 2015, the Ice Palace was renamed Mayfield Toyota Ice Palace after the mall sold the naming rights to a local auto dealership. However, after a couple of years as well as the dealership moving to WEM in 2021, the Ice Palace was reverted back to its' original name.
During special events, such as Remembrance Day, the ice rink is covered for ceremonies. In July 2017, West Edmonton Mall announced that the Ice Palace would get a $3 million renovation. It closed for the summer and reopened in December 2017.
Mini Golf Professor WEM's Adventure Golf
Professor WEM's Adventure Golf is an 18-hole miniature golf course. The miniature golf course was originally known as Pebble Beach Mini Golf and was designed to be a mini golf version of Pebble Beach Golf Links. The course was refurbished and given the Professor WEM theme in the mid-1990s.
Dragon's Tale Black-lit Mini Golf Is near Galaxyland Powered by Hasbro, along with the Crystal Labyrinth Mirror Maze.
Marine Life
From 1985 to 2005 a Deep Sea adventure ride took visitors on a narrated tour of the lake in one of four submarines. The submarines have now been removed but guests can still visit the Sea Life Caverns at Marine Life — an underground aquarium that is home to more than 100 species of fish, sharks, sea turtles, penguins, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates—or watch the free daily sea lion shows.
Other attractions
Fantasyland Hotel, located within the mall; WEM is also affiliated with a second hotel, the West Edmonton Mall Inn, across the street from the shopping centre on 90th Avenue. An indoor shooting range (named "Wild West Shooting Centre") Large-scale replica of the Santa María, one of the ships sailed by Christopher Columbus in 1492 to San Salvador Island. The deck can be booked for private functions. 24-hour Gym, Crunch Fitness