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The Top 6 Venues to Host Your Event 

Choosing a venue to host your next big event can be a daunting task. The venue is one of the first things needed to solidify, sometimes even before diving into the nitty-gritty details on design and production aspects. It highly influences the tone of the event and reveals the constraints (and opportunities) your team will get to work in. We chat with Technical Director Rob and Director of Production Mitch to discuss what their favorite venues are and why.

St. Louis Arch Grounds

St. Louis Arch Grounds

Rob's Top 3 Venues

Off the bat, my brain immediately goes to the St. Louis Arch Grounds, though I’m a bit biased since I live here. It has a beautiful environment overlooking the Mississippi River and the Arch, the Gateway to the Midwest. It’s perfect for small music festivals, especially with the natural “bowl” that allows for raked seating and a pit. For larger scale productions, there is an installed 3-phase power 200a and 400a allowing for plenty of power. I’ve personally worked on several shows at the Arch Grounds and I must say, it’s a fantastic venue that is perfect for most events.

In second place, I’d say the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego. It is right next to the Gaslamp district, giving you have tons of options for food and entertainment. They have ample space to host a general session and numerous break out rooms, all easily accessible for both your attendees and event staff to load-in/out equipment. A big bonus is their excellent breakfast buffet and buffet view. There’s even a maple syrup cauldron/serving device available to you when you do the buffet option. It’s spectacular.

Finally, there's the SVN West in San Francisco. It is a 3 story parking garage and a complete blank slate that is ready for any huge and unique feeling event. It can be a bit challenging on the production side to work in, but it's one of the most rewarding places to have a finished event in. You can completely transform the space to make it into anything you want it to be. I’ve done two of my top 10 largest events in this venue and they are among my favorite events I’ve ever worked. We’ve accomplished some truly amazing designs in this space (shoutout to Google for introducing this venue to us for your Malware Protection Event!) and I’m really looking forward to when we get to work in this space again.

Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Mitch's Top 3 Venues

From a design perspective, I have enjoyed working in convention centers. When given an opportunity to design an amazing event for a client, having such a large blank canvas with ample power, rigging options, and dock space to load in/out from is great. I truly enjoy being able to convert a huge generic box into an awe-inspiring event space that our clients will remember and talk about for years to come

Austin Convention Center

Austin Convention Center

In particular, I am somewhat partial to the Austin Convention Center due to its proximity to one of our TSV branches as well as the vibrant downtown atmosphere just outside the convention center doors. Load-ins are very smooth and easy with their dock being connected to their event halls. We've produced very large events in this space, so it's ease of use combined with our space familiarity and possibilities the event halls give us makes the Austin Convention Center an easy favorite of mine.

The Pablo Center

The Pablo Center

From a client experience perspective, the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass, just outside of Phoenix, Arizona has been a great place that we have been back to multiple times. The hotel is extremely nice, the meeting spaces are numerous and varied in size from small to quite large, the view outside the hotel is spectacular, and the hotel staff experience has always been top tier. I can't really think of a negative thing to say about our experiences there.

From a technical perspective, theaters are a great place to work. They are purpose built for production and can work well for many types of events. They have plenty of power, rigging, and oftentimes pre-rigged lighting. We have worked in theaters for documentary screenings, musical performances, plays/musicals, corporate conference keynotes, and, my favorite, a video shoot at The Pablo Center at Confluence in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for a fully virtual conference towards the end of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Not only was the venue a beautiful backdrop for the recording, the quiet little town had such a relaxing ambience to enjoy once each day was wrapped.

Each of these venues offers its own unique advantages, whether it’s the flexible rigging and city vibes of the Austin Convention Center, the natural beauty of Phoenix, Arizona, or the logistical ease and relaxing location of the theater in Eau Claire. As an event producer, these elements not only make my job easier but also enhance the overall experience for attendees and the crew.

The TSV Top 6 (in no particular order):

  • St. Louis Arch Grounds
  • Austin Convention Center
  • Sheraton Grand in Horse Pass
  • Hilton Bayfront San Diego
  • The Pablo Center
  • SVN West in San Fransisco

About the Authors

Rob Burgess and Mitch Aldridge are two awesome live event professionals at TSV Sound & Vision. Click their link to find out more about them and to see pictures of them shredding on the guitar.