The Stockyards Event Center takes lectures, seminars, small conventions, corporate events and expos for up to 1,800 standing guests, with a 630-seat auditorium and a 17,500-square-foot expo hall under one roof. Its full name is the HW Hutchison Family Stockyards Event Center, and it stands on the National Western Center campus at 5115 Race Court in north Denver.
Seminars and company events
The building covers about 48,000 square feet and contains two arenas, so one event can combine a general session, an exhibition floor and a seated dinner on the same site. The auditorium suits keynotes, award ceremonies and product presentations, while the expo hall takes trade shows, company fairs and large receptions. Two conference rooms on the second level can serve as breakout rooms or speaker lounges. The venue also hosts e-sports tournaments, live music and stage performances, which gives an idea of the production it can support.
Audio and video in the auditorium are run in-house, with a 23-foot LED video wall. The expo hall has built-in show power for exhibitors and stage sets. Requests for the center, and for the neighboring Yards, are handled by the campus events team.
Rooms and capacities
The Auditorium has 630 fixed seats arranged as an amphitheater around a 1,400-square-foot performance floor. Its balconies step down toward the plaza, and several pre-function areas can hold a standing reception before or after a session. Second Level Conference Rooms 1 and 2 complete this part of the building.
The Expo Hall offers 17,500 square feet of floor without obstructions. It has 805 retractable bleacher seats, takes 1,100 guests standing, or up to 1,800 when additional requirements are met, and seats 700 for dinner. It opens onto the north plaza, so an event can run indoors and outdoors at the same time.
Outside, the plaza can hold a welcome area or an open-air reception, with views of the Rocky Mountains and the downtown skyline. Parking on campus is plentiful, which matters for large groups arriving by car or coach.
History and setting
The National Western Center is the home of the National Western Stock Show, held in Denver every January since 1906, and the stockyards that give the building its name long sat at the center of the city's livestock trade. The event center is among the most recent buildings on the redeveloped campus, and the operator presents it as the newest venue of its kind in the Denver metro area. For a visiting group, the western heritage of the site gives a corporate event a clear sense of place, close to downtown.
Getting there
The campus lies in north Denver, a short drive from downtown, beside Interstate 70. Denver International Airport is the nearest airport. The center publishes a campus map and accessibility information for planners, and guests and deliveries use the street address, 5115 Race Court, Denver, CO 80216.
