VENUE SELECTION IN AN EVENT

Venue Selection in an Event

Venue Selection in an Event

Introduction

One critical element of event success for the many of the events held annually throughout the world is selecting a suitable location. In assessing location, there are a myriad of issues to consider from the perspective of the event organizers. These include the cost of operating the event, venue capacity; marketability of the location, logistics, and each party's willingness to collaborate on creating a successful event. Based on the type of event, the aforementioned factors will vary in significance. For example, considering the sports event, when the National Football League selects a site for the Super Bowl there is an emphasis on the structure of the venue as well as the ability of the surrounding city to accommodate the audience. In contrast, a local marathon may be more concerned with the logistics of the course route and obtaining the necessary permits for road closures.

Discussion

Selecting an appropriate Location

Since events are not always hosted in a specific region, organizers are required to do some research on the potential venue location. This research includes the alignment of the location and the target market, surveys with local residents, interviews with staff from previous events similar to the one being planned, and meetings with the convention and visitors bureau. The more event organizers can learn from this research, the better the match will be between the event and the prospective location.

A significant portion of the event budget is spent on leasing and preparing a site to host an event; as a result, the financial cost incurred at a prospective location is critical. Some considerations to examine include the rental rate for the facility, venue labor costs, revenue sharing, and equipment available through the venue. Prior to selecting a venue, organizers also need to understand the event logistics to determine the suitability of a location. This includes estimating the length of time needed for event setup and teardown, venue access, equipment availability, and whether the building has the capacity to stage the event (Connect Events, 2011).

Every event will have some time requirement for loading in and loading out, which must evaluated in relationship to the venue availability and cost. This is relative to the equipment needs and complexity of the event. When the first outdoor American Hockey League game was held in 2010 at the New York State Fairgrounds on a grandstand concert venue, event organizers had to bring in everything to make the event possible, including material to make a hockey rink, heaters, scoreboard, locker rooms, audio-visual technology, hockey equipment, portable seating, and restrooms.

This not only created more logistical concerns but it also raised the price for holding this event significantly, as the portable seating alone cost over $125,000 for 10,000 seats. One particular challenge in this example was that the hosting team played a hockey game at their home arena the night before the event, requiring event staff to bring most of the equipment late the night before the event, ...