RSA president and working party member Dave Geddes suggested the name change, a move which the working party supported.
"It's not just a hall, it's a centre for the community," he said.
The group also hoped the upgrade and proposed name change would make the building more attractive for conference groups until such time as a conference centre was established in the resort.
An open day on Saturday attracted about 15 people.
Some had specific questions, while others were curious following last week's announcement a $2.56 million upgrade of the hall was planned.
Project manager Steve Hewland said a $1 million grant from the Central Lakes Trust had enabled the working party to progress with the detailed design of the hall while other fund-raising continued.
Once complete, the group intended to honour the trust at the centre's entrance - proposed to be named the CLT Foyer.
All affected party approvals had been signed off before lodging consent, meaning the application would be processed non-notified.
It was hoped consent could be granted by the end of this year, tenders being out in April, construction beginning in June and the new centre opening for business by the end of 2012, Mr Hewland said.
The Queenstown Memorial Hall was built in the late 1950s as part of the Sidney Holland government's policy that money be set aside to help build a suitable World War 2 Memorial in every town and city throughout New Zealand.
The first Labour government's idea was that a "living memorial" be built to help serve the community's interests, especially its cultural and recreational needs.
A $1.5 million upgrade in 1998 was intended as a 10-year stop-gap, and working party chairwoman Cath Gilmour said it was now "inescapably" time to upgrade the facilities.
"We acknowledge that the hall will never be a supreme performance venue, but it could be closer to a superb sow's purse than ragged pig's ear with some strategic, cost-effective spending on structural and resource improvements," she said.
To help fund the upgrade the working party had launched a sponsorship package, with an invitation for businesses and individuals to join the "All Star Cast of Supporters".
The "All Star Cast of Supporters" honour role would be located in the new foyer area of the centre, listing all sponsors. They ranged from "Icons of Our Stage" (those who contributed $50,000 or more) to Stellar Perfomers or Corporate Starts ($20,000 to $49,999); Leading Lights ($10,000 to $19,999); Supporting Actors ($5000 to $9999); Essential Backstage Crew ($1000-$4999); and "Those we couldn't do without" ($500-$999).
The Queenstown Lakes District Council had provided $20,000 for the investigation and project development phase and allocated $120,000 in the 2011-12 year to furthering the project.
Councillors had also committed to support the inclusion of $300,000 in the 2012-13 Annual Plan.
