Venue
Venue Site Visit
Measure it yourself, and ask the awkward questions
A site visit is not a tour. It exists to find the constraints that will change your plan — the loading bay that closes at four, the power that is nowhere near the stage, the ceiling that is lower than the screen you specified. You find those by measuring and asking, not by looking.
The short answer
A site visit is a working walkthrough of a venue to verify dimensions, services, access and rules before you commit. In common usage a site inspection often means the same walkthrough; some organisations reserve "inspection" for a formal, documented check against requirements. The terms are not standardised, so agree with the venue what the visit is for when you book it.
Before you go
- A draft layout, even a rough one — you cannot test a plan you have not drafted
- Your list of questions, written down
- A tape measure or laser measure
- A phone with space for photographs and video
- The venue's own drawing, to mark up
- Your technical requirements — power draw, screen size, rigging points
- Your dates, including build and strike days
- Someone from the production side if the build is complex
Point
Bring a draft layout. Walking a room without a plan produces a pleasant visit and no useful information. With a draft, every question becomes concrete: does this fit here, can that go there.
Note
Ask to visit at the same time of day as your event. Light, noise from neighbouring spaces, traffic outside and the building's own operations all change through the day.
Measure, do not trust the drawing
- Room dimensions — venue drawings can predate refurbishment
- Ceiling height, and the lowest obstruction, not the highest point
- Door widths and heights on the whole route from the street
- Lift dimensions and weight limit
- Column positions and what they block from the back row
- Level changes, ramps, thresholds
- Distance from power to where equipment will stand
- Projection throw distance, and whether the screen fits under the ceiling
- Loading bay height restriction, and the vehicle size it accepts
Point
Measure the whole route from the street to the room, not just the room. The item that will not fit is usually stopped by a door, a lift or a corner on the way in — not by the destination.
Note
Photograph with something for scale, and shoot a slow walking video of the load-in route. You will be asked questions later that you did not think to measure, and the video answers many of them.
The questions that change the plan
- What time can we get in, and what time must we be out? Including build and strike
- Is there an event before or after ours in this space?
- What is the power available, where, and is there a limit per circuit?
- Can we rig from the ceiling? Where, and what weight?
- Who operates the house sound and lighting, and is that charged?
- Can we bring our own equipment, or are suppliers nominated?
- Is there a nominated caterer, and what does bringing another cost?
- What is the wifi actually like? — test it, do not ask
- Is there a wired connection for streaming?
- Where do deliveries go, and can we send items in advance?
- What are the noise restrictions, and from what time?
- What is the capacity in our layout, not the maximum?
- What does making good involve — what can we fix to walls and floors?
- Who is the contact on the day, and are they on site?
- What happens if we overrun?
Point
Test the wifi; do not ask about it. Connect, run a speed test, and do it in the part of the room where it will matter. "We have wifi" is true in buildings where it is unusable with 200 people in the room.
Note
Ask what else is happening in the building that day. A shared loading bay, a noisy neighbouring event or a conference breaking at the same time as yours will shape your plan more than most things inside your own room.
After the visit
- 01
Write it up the same day
Details fade fast. Measurements, answers, photographs, and what changed in your plan.
- 02
Send your understanding to the venue in writing
"To confirm what we discussed…" A verbal yes on site is not a commitment, and the person who gave it may not be there on the day.
- 03
Get the constraints into the contract
Access times, included equipment, nominated suppliers, making good, overrun charges.
- 04
Update the layout against real measurements
See floor plan.
- 05
List what you still do not know
Unanswered questions are the ones that surface on build day.
- 06
Share photos and video with the crew
They will spot problems you did not.
Point
Confirm everything in writing afterwards. Site visits generate a lot of verbal agreement, and almost none of it is remembered the same way six weeks later. One summary email protects both sides.
Key takeaways
- Bring a draft layout. Without one you get a pleasant tour and no useful information.
- Measure the whole route from the street, not just the room. The blocker is usually a door or a lift.
- Measure the lowest obstruction, not the highest ceiling point.
- Test the wifi; do not ask about it. Run a speed test where it will matter.
- Ask what else is happening in the building that day. Shared loading bays shape plans.
- Confirm everything in writing the same day. A verbal yes on site is not a commitment.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
In common usage they mean the same walkthrough. Some organisations reserve "inspection" for a formal, documented check against stated requirements, while a "visit" is a working look around. The terms are not standardised, so agree with the venue what the visit is for when you book it — particularly whether technical staff will be present and whether you may measure and photograph.
A draft layout, a written list of questions, a tape or laser measure, a phone with space for photos and video, the venue's own drawing to mark up, your technical requirements including power draw and screen size, and your build and strike dates. Bring someone from the production side if the build is complex. Without a draft layout you get a pleasant tour and no useful information.
Room dimensions, ceiling height at the lowest obstruction rather than the highest point, door widths and heights along the whole route from the street, lift dimensions and weight limit, column positions, level changes, the distance from power to where equipment will stand, projection throw distance, and the loading bay height restriction. The item that will not fit is usually stopped on the way in, not in the room itself.
Access and egress times including build and strike, whether another event is in the space before or after, power availability and per-circuit limits, rigging points and weights, who operates house sound and lighting and at what cost, whether suppliers are nominated, delivery and advance storage, noise restrictions, capacity in your layout rather than the maximum, what making good involves, who is the contact on the day, and what happens if you overrun.
No — test it. Connect and run a speed test in the part of the room where it will matter. "We have wifi" is true in plenty of buildings where it becomes unusable with a few hundred people in the room. If you are streaming, ask specifically about a wired connection.