Welcome to the Meeting and Event Planning Guide to Boulder, a city guide written for meeting professionals. Lovingly coined "the city nestled between the mountains and reality," Boulder is a destination known for its natural beauty, urban culture, love of the outdoors and unwavering commitment to a green lifestyle. The compact, pedestrian-friendly city is home to a variety of museums, award-winning restaurants, a highly regarded science laboratory, outdoor adventures and the University of Colorado Boulder, one of the country's premier public research institutions. As a center for innovative thought, Boulder also boasts an entrepreneurial spirit with a small-town feel, offering a range of venues and event services for everything from team building activities to large meetings.
Boulder sits 45 miles from the expansive Denver International Airport, the fifth-busiest airport in the U.S. and the largest airport site in North America. Easily recognizable by its peaked roof that resembles snow-capped mountains (or teepees), Denver International offers nonstop service to more than 170 destinations worldwide, including major markets in the U.S., UK, Germany, Iceland, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. After flying into Denver, delegates can easily get to Boulder via the Regional Transportation District's SkyRide service, which runs daily between the Boulder Transit Center and the airport. Once in Boulder, delegates can hop aboard the Community Transit Network's variety of buses that service downtown Boulder, major shopping areas and the University of Colorado Boulder.
Nestled in the heart of Boulder, the University of Colorado Boulder offers a number of meeting and event spaces throughout its 786-acre, 200-building campus. The university features a full range of event and meeting management services, accommodating groups of 25 to 5,000 delegates and more than 110 conferences each year. The university offers more than 70 air-conditioned meeting spaces, including classrooms, lecture halls and theater-style rooms, most of which with a full range of audiovisual equipment, and all with free Wi-Fi access. Event spaces include the 2,047-seat, two-level Macky Auditorium and 11,200-seat CU Coors Events Center, as well as the University Memorial Center, which features a 300-person Multi-purpose Room, 1,200-person Ballroom and 130-person Aspen Room. Additional spaces include the 8,750-square-foot CU Stadium Club at Folsom Field and the Balch Field House, Carlson Gym and UMC Ballroom, which offer a combined total of more than 50,000 square feet of exhibit space. Outdoor event spaces and summertime dormitory housing options are available.
Aside from the University of Colorado Boulder's variety of indoor and outdoor event spaces, Boulder features a number of special event venues perfectly designed for group functions. Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark offers a range of event spaces throughout its 40-acre site. Delegates can enjoy a performance at the historic Chautauqua Auditorium and Community House before gathering at the picnic shelters, the flagstoned Auditorium Terrace or Grand Assembly room with a wrap-around indoor balcony, among other spaces. Many of Boulder's performing arts spaces and cultural museums double as special event venues. For example, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art welcomes private events in its three galleries and 100-seat, black-box theater, all housed in a historic warehouse in the heart of downtown Boulder. The Dairy Center for the Arts, a nonprofit cultural arts organization housed in the historic Watts-Hardy Dairy Building, features a number of group event spaces, including 80-seat, 100-seat and 250-seat theaters, a 70-seat cinema, an 80-person gallery space and 120-person lobby area. The downtown Boulder Theater is known for its events that span most musical genres, as well as its Art Deco facade and event and screening space for groups of up to 700 people. The Boulder History Museum, situated in the historic Harbeck-Bergheim House on University Hill, welcomes small receptions and events in its gallery space, front porch and front lawn.
