Venues and load-in
In shortLoad-in window, dock or door access, freight elevator clearance, a dedicated circuit, and a COI issued to the venue.
Most activations that go wrong do not go wrong on the floor. They go wrong at the dock, four hours before doors, over something that could have been confirmed four weeks earlier.
This is the list we work through in pre-event planning, published so you can check it against your venue before you book anything.
The pre-event checklist
| Item | What we need | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Load-in window | The venue's published move-in times | Venue, via you |
| Access route | Dock, or a confirmed passenger entrance | Venue |
| Freight elevator | Dimensions, if the route uses one | Venue |
| Door widths | Narrowest point on the route | Venue |
| Power | One dedicated circuit per rig, live from move-in | Venue or show contractor, ordered by you |
| Floor protection | If required by the venue | Venue rules, we comply |
| COI | $6M / $8M, issued to the venue | Us |
| Labor rules | Whether material handling is union jurisdiction | Venue |
Union labor, honestly
At most major convention centers, material handling is union jurisdiction and sometimes electrical is too. This affects timing and cost. It does not affect whether your activation can happen.
What it changes in practice: equipment may need to be received and moved by the venue's labor rather than carried in by our crew, which means the load-in schedule is set by the show rather than by us, and there is a cost line you should have in your budget from the start.
We plan to the venue's rules rather than arguing with them, and we tell you the implications during planning rather than on the invoice.
The question nobody answers
Ask any vendor in this category whether their equipment fits a standard freight elevator and you will get a confident yes without a dimension attached.
We are measuring largest case dimensions and weights per configuration and will publish them, because that is the number that decides a load-in. Until those records are complete we answer per venue rather than in general, which is slower and correct.
What people ask about venues
What do you need from the venue?
A load-in window, dock or door access, a dedicated circuit, and the floor space. We handle the rest, including the certificate of insurance the venue will ask for.
Will your equipment fit a freight elevator?
That depends on the largest case, which is why we are measuring and publishing case dimensions per configuration rather than giving a general answer. It is the question nobody in this category publishes, and it is the one that decides whether a load-in works.
Do you handle union labor?
We work to the venue's rules. At most major convention centers, material handling and sometimes electrical are union jurisdiction, which affects timing and cost rather than feasibility. We plan around it rather than discovering it.
Can you load in through a passenger entrance?
Sometimes, depending on configuration and the venue's rules. It is one of the things we confirm in pre-event planning, because a venue that requires dock access and a build that cannot use one is a problem best found four weeks out.
Do you provide a certificate of insurance?
Yes. $6M per occurrence and $8M aggregate, issued to the venue as part of pre-event planning rather than chased on the week of the event.
What if the venue has a preferred vendor requirement?
Tell us early. Some venues restrict who may load in, and it is better to discover that before you have a signed agreement with us than after.
Get a quote
Tell us about your event.
Tell us the venue and the dates. We will work through the load-in questions with you before anything is signed.
No newsletter, no drip sequence. One reply from a person. Open the form in a new tab if it does not load.