Event Venues in Austin
Reasoning
Given that a variety of organizations in Austin hold face-to-face events, be they large-scale networking events or small user group meet-ups, it makes sense to dump information about what is available so others need not start from square one. Any first-hand experience comments are welcome, as that lends credence to the listing.
Venues
Here is a list of venues, in no particular order. Note that the obvious choices of local hotels are not listed. They usually have quite large ballrooms available, but they're also generally quite expensive. I'm also quite partial to venues that don't force food to be bought from them (like hotels), as they can really add to the cost.
Monarch Events Center
http://www.monarcheventcenter.com/
door64 used this for the August 7th, 2008 High-Tech Career Fair and Networking Night. Used the largest space for the career fair, and the bar area for spill-over and networking. Staff were good to work with, and the venue was all setup when arrived. Only issue was the A/C was working overtime to cool the auditorium when filled; was a bit stuffy, and fans had to be brought in to help with that. Central location in Austin (near St. John's off I-35) is good. Decent parking.
Great Hills Baptist Church
http://www.ghbc.org/
Heard they have meeting facilities available at their church. Not investigated.
Bethany United Methodist Church
http://www.bethany-umc.org/
Located Anderson Mill & 183 area in Austin. Full-size gym, with kitchen, bathrooms, tables. Not sure of exact capacity, but probably holds around 400 standing.
Six
http://www.sixlounge.com/
door64 has held events there. Ask for Jessica, who is their event coordinator on staff. They do a great job, and can handle drink tickets, external food caterers, and table setup before the event. Very professional, and easy to work with. They have monitors in many area of the bar, meaning you can hook up some laptops to show slideshows during the event.
Union Park
http://www.unionparkaustin.com/
Entire place holds ~500.
Dave & Busters
Their ballroom holds 150+ standing, and has a big screen in the front for A/V. They provide food and printed drink tickets. As for Ashley Anderson at the Austin location.
Texas Land & Cattle
Most of the Austin locations have private dining areas that seat 50 to ~90. Rooms can probably be configured for standing versus seated/dining. No experience with rental fees, but have heard this is a good option for some events.
Alamo Drafthouse
No direct experience, but have heard they are very reasonable for even rentals. Most Austin locations seem to allow rental.
Jaspers (in the Domain)
Have heard they are very reasonable for large-room rental for events. Very good food there.
Phillips Pavilion at PromiseLand Church
51st St. 3 blocks east of I-35 in Austin
http://www.promiselandchurch.net/
Indoor, air conditioned gymnasium. Standing: 800, sitting: ~500. Tables can be rented, and they do have some chairs. Kitchen attached, with backroom staging area. This is a very large venue. $500 first 3 hours, $100 every hour afterwards. $20/hr for someone on site. No alcohol on site.
Mabee Ballroom at St. Edward's University
Mabee Ballroom, Ragsdale Center, St. Edward's University
http://www.stedwards.edu/con_svcs/rag_cntr.htm
Holds 300 / 750 standing.
Central location downtown. Other rooms available are shown on the above link as well, but the Mabee is the largest by far. Tables & chairs would need to be rented.
St. Edward's University Professional Education Center (PEC)
http://www.seupec.com
The PEC, conveniently located at 360/183 has meeting rooms available for daytime rental that will host 18-120 people. Great for corporate offsites, lunch meetings and organization events. We have ample free parking. We have on-site catering service: absolutely no lunch meats or processed foods are used in the preparation of any of our gourmet sandwiches or salads. They select only the freshest beef, pork, poultry, fish and produce available and make everything to order. I haven't had anything on their menu I didn't love!
Contact: Teri Turner: terit@seupec.com
Triumph Cafe
http://www.triumphcafe.com/
They have a very nice patio in the back - great for outdoor events that number ~150 or so. GeekAustin and door64 have held events there in the past. You'll probably need to order catering from them to reserve the patio, but their prices are very reasonable (see below).
Austin Public Libraries
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/meeting.htm
They are all over Austin, free to reserve, and may work well for relatively small groups. They have some restrictions, but still it's a very viable option.
Catering
Here is a list of restaurants or caterers, generally useful for those organizing networking events. Personal experience is a plus here.
Triumph Cafe
http://www.triumphcafe.com/
They do an excellent job of providing egg rolls, spring rolls, and other Asian-style hor dourvres at door64 and GeekAustin events. I (Matt G) have used them at many door64 networking happy hours, and their egg rolls + spring rolls have always been a hit. Their prices are very reasonable, and they deliver. Highly recommended.