Securing Extraordinary Spaces: Our Favorite Bay Area Venues of 2021
Photo credit (clockwise from top left): Metro Events, Non Plus Ultra, Chase Center, and Mitch Tobias.
So much of the work we do as event planners is built on relationships and trust. We have no doubt our shining reputation is in large part due to the incredible venue and vendor partnerships we’ve cultivated. We especially value the venues we work with and consider them our partners. We’re always eager to bring our clients to them as they have proven themselves to be invaluable collaborators by providing extraordinary spaces. They are responsive and attentive to our clients’ event needs and we feel secure working in tandem to deliver memorable functions.
Kennedy Events Creative Director and Senior Producer Marianne Jackson recently sat down with three of our favorite venue managers to dig into these dynamic partnerships and discuss the top venue trends they foresee for 2021 and beyond.
Photo credit: Brian Byllesby Photography
Metro Events
Kimberly Patten, Senior Sales and Marketing Manager of Metro Events, foresees a robust return to live events this Fall season and a trend towards venues that include outdoor options. Metro Events runs three piers—Pier 27, 29, and 35—that sit right on the San Francisco Bay. These venues offer indoor and outdoor spaces that effortlessly emit the distinct vibe of San Francisco. The waterfront venues are spacious and easily adapted to create endless possibilities for corporate receptions, private parties, events, expos, and galas.
Pier 27 has a spectacular outdoor space right on the bay with a clear view of the skyline; talk about creating an atmosphere. Pivoting during the pandemic, they forayed into filming and car photoshoots that capitalized on their versatile and expansive venues.
One of the things that we love most about Metro Events is the fact that their massive, open spaces provide a blank slate and endless possibilities. As detailed in the photos, event professionals have maximized the immensity of the space to transform it into a unique vision fit for their event. As they like to say: “Let your imagination loose and your ideas percolate. The venues of Metro Events can make your vision a reality.”
Photos courtesty of Chase Center.
Chase Center
In addition to being the home of the Golden State Warriors, Chase Center sets the bar for luxury with venue spaces galore. From panoramic patios and marble bars to luxe lounges; whether your event focuses on business or pleasure, this space is a treasure. Pam Perez, Head of Venue Sales at Chase Center, was kind enough to provide Marianne with a tour of the stadium. Immense and glossy, this location is seemingly limitless. (Marianne had no idea just how far over her Fitbit step goal she’d be heading during that tour!)
Chase Center has played host to concerts, conferences, and of course, NBA games. This venue enables you to buy out the entire stadium or simply choose a few of their divine venue spaces; pick and choose your most effective schmooze! Whether you’re entertaining business partners or hosting clients for an in-town conference, these spaces were designed to do nothing less than impress. Nothing says VIP like premium suites, courtside lounges, club suites, and theatre boxes. These suites would make for brilliant sponsorship package upgrades to jaunt over to Chase Center after a conference to catch a game with clients you’re hoping to secure.
With everything that Chase Center has to offer, the Outdoor Plaza is one of our favorite features. As our clients return to live events, an outdoor component seals the deal when locking in a venue. Futuristic and modern, Chase Center’s plaza can also be bought out for event use or activations; a driving factor in future event bookings.
Photo credits: Mitch Tobias (left) and Non Plus Ultra (right).
Non Plus Ultra
Non Plus Ultra transforms architecturally or culturally significant spaces into unique and impactful event venues. Their holdings include some of the best that San Francisco has to offer. The Palace of Fine Arts is one of the Bay Area’s most iconic landmarks and offers a great space for large conferences, with an audience cap of a whopping 45,000 people!
Another favorite of the KE team, The Midway, assembles creatives in a junction with the function of connecting art-oriented communities in its gallery space with the feeling of a nightclub. We’re also fans of Jones, an urban restaurant in downtown San Francisco that offers buyouts (exclusive use of the venue) of its incredible open-air dining space with a full bar.
The out-of-the-box approach of this venue management firm extended to the months of the pandemic. Dave Peterson, Director of Sales at Non Plus Ultra, shared a trade secret: By evolving their SVN West venue into an immersive and wildly successful Van Gogh Installation, they were able to generate revenue, retain staff, and even do additional hiring. That’s something that’s almost unheard of during the past year! We give them huge props for this impressive turn and continue to partner with them for some of our most innovative events.
While seemingly unrelated, all of their locales are linked by the fact that they connect the community by re-establishing historic, landmark spaces through transformational projects. Always community-centered, they graciously allowed clients who had to cancel or postpone their events due to the pandemic without losing their deposits. Their venues are so popular that they are already taking reservations for 2023. Non Plus Ultra has seen an 80% increase in events for 2021, with a majority of the bookings for holiday parties. They’ve also seen a 90% uptick in the last two months for events in 2022. It’s all in the data and everything points to the fact that folks are ready to gather!
Let’s Get You Booked Right Away
If you’re looking to submit a booking, don’t delay! All of our top venues recommend doing so with haste as the influx of inquiries increases daily. Each venue is welcoming back attendees with open arms; of course, COVID policies and protocols are in place to ensure a safe space. Outdoor venue options are clutch and in high demand, which is why we see no drawback to booking any of these three great venue options that feature both indoor and outdoor spaces. There’s a reason we return again and again to these properties and the only thing we love more than the venue spaces is the people who work there. Kennedy Events is looking forward to continuing our partnerships with them through the rest of 2021 and beyond.
Need Help Finding a Venue for Your Next Event?
Finding the right venue to meet your event goals can be an intimidating feat, but it doesn’t have to be. With years of experience under our belts and strong venue partnerships in place, Kennedy Events is well-positioned to lock in your perfect location. We’ll work with you to uncover the planning particulars of your event space and offer bespoke solutions. Schedule some time with us to learn how we can bring our expertise to your next in-person, virtual, or hybrid event.
MARIANNE JACKSON
Marianne Jackson is a senior producer and the creative director at Kennedy Events. She specializes in making our client’s biggest design and decor dreams tangible while also ensuring that the event day menu is worthy of a Zagat mention. (Seriously, her taste and culinary connections are that good). Her fervor for adventure, cuisine, and aesthetics is visibly apparent in every event—whether in-person or virtual—she produces.
About Kennedy Events
Kennedy Events began with one goal in mind—to produce high-level corporate events with just as much strategy as style. Maggie founded the company in 2000, found her match in Paige, and in 2011 the two became official partners. Since then, these two resourceful and brilliant creatives have pooled their strengths to build one one of the most the most sought after corporate event companies in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.
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