Wide Open Meeting, Event Spaces in Gainesville & Alachua County
With Forbes magazine’s top pick for the safest hotel to stay in Florida during the pandemic and 36 lodging properties committed to a Safe Stay Pledge, Gainesville and Alachua County are uniquely positioned to help you restart your meetings by delivering something to travelers that has been elusive during the pandemic: a sense of safety and trust.
Start envisioning your socially distanced gatherings with our wide-open spaces facilities compendium or visit the new Outdoor Venues webpage.
Add to that, event and meeting venues, many that have always held open-air meetings and events, and others that have pivoted to offer the same high-quality experience in a manner that instills safety and confidence amongst all.
Small Meetings in Large Spaces: Hold your next in-person meeting with plenty of room to spread out.
Hybrid and in-person physically distance meetings are successfully taking place in the ballrooms at the UF Hilton, Hotel Indigo, Best Western Gateway Grand, Holiday Inn University Center, and the Wyndham Garden.
Ample Outdoor Event Venues: New! The Gainesville, Alachua County visitor’s bureau now has outdoor venue spaces at your fingertips.
From C-Bar Ranch’s beautiful, full-service barn that seats 200 and sits on over 50 useable acres to the Gainesville Regional Airport’s versatile open fields ready to host a concert.
Gainesville, Alachua County’s venues are ready to safely host your next meeting, event and holiday party.
Neighboring Venues With Multiple Creative, Unique Event & Meeting Spaces
The Cultural Plaza is home to the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Harn Museum of Art, and the Florida Museum of Natural History and Butterfly Rainforest, providing over 25 available rental spaces, all in one location. And is located within minutes to twenty plus hotels, hundreds of eateries, I-75 and the Gainesville Regional Airport.
Across the street is the UF Hilton and Conference Center featuring 12,681 sq. ft. of meeting space and 10 meeting rooms, and the Aloft Gainesville, featuring 1,350 sq. ft. of meeting space and 3 event rooms – creating opportunities for a large variety of events and meetings of all sizes within very close proximity.
The rental spaces in the Cultural Plaza have re-imagined their properties to provide opportunities for unique, physically-distanced events.
Harn Museum of Art, one of the largest university-affiliated art museums in the U.S., is prepared with updated capacities, physically distanced layouts, and ready to host your next meeting. With tall ceilings, grand spaces, an on-site café and art and gardens throughout, just imagine how amazing your next meeting would be held in this space.
Phillips Center for the Performing Arts not only presents some of the most established and emerging national and international artists, but they also have several meeting spaces throughout the building. Their COVID-19 reopening plan has been guided with help from epidemiology experts at UF Health, to ensure the safety of patrons. This is a great place to hold a meeting and also entertain your guests.
B&B with Meeting Spaces and Catering In Their Garden
The Sweetwater Branch Inn Lodging & Event Center is safely hosting smaller meetings and weddings – outdoors and inside their event center. Their full catering menu can be served and enjoyed in their beautiful garden or on their wrap-around porches.
As you think about your short-term meeting and event needs, and as you plan for the upcoming year, the Visit Gainesville, Alachua County team stands at the ready with information and resources to guide your planning process. We are here to answer questions about the safety of our properties, venues and attractions, and to help you find ways to reduce your expenses and stretch your budget, like the $10K Alachua County Conference Grant.
