Once the proud center of the world's steelmaking industry, Northern England's Sheffield has transformed itself into a modern commercial city, as well as a major center for sports events. In addition to city properties, Sheffield meeting venues also feature space from two educational institutions, University of Sheffield and Hallam University.
Chief among convention venues in Sheffield is the city's main convention center, historic Sheffield City Hall, which is a stunning Art Deco building containing three impressive neoclassic halls that can accommodate 2,270, 850 and 500 delegates respectively for conferences, banquets and business receptions.
Other highly prestigious civic venues in Sheffield include the stunning Millennium Gallery, which can host up to 250 delegates, and the historic Cutlers Hall, a perfect setting for formal dinners and conferences for up to 500 guests.
Hotel venues in Sheffield account for approximately 2,000 quality hotel guest rooms, many in properties that offer meeting facilities. The 161-room Mercure St Paul's Hotel and Spa is the city's largest hotel-based conference venue, with seating for up to 650 delegates, followed by the 259-room Jury's Inn, the 158-room Copthorne, the 144-room Novotel, the 128-room Hilton, the 122-room Etap, the 114-room Kenwood Hall, the 111-room Park Inn and the 107-room Holiday Inn — all of which offer a wide range of meeting rooms and exhibition spaces.
Sheffield's great industrial heritage and its modern conference infrastructure come together at the Magna Arena — a former steel factory converted to accommodate up to 2,500 delegates and banqueting for 1,000 guests; and at the Megacentre, a converted factory that can host a range of conferences, meetings or exhibitions for up to 800 delegates.
The University of Sheffield has two modern conference "villages" where over 150 meeting rooms provide accommodation for a total of 1,250 delegates, and its Octagon Centre is a modern multi-purpose complex with 9,365 square feet of exhibition space and seating for 1,250 delegates. Sheffield Hallam University has conference facilities for up to 450 delegates, and there are over 4,000 en-suite student bedrooms available across the city outside term time.
Sheffield is also home to a cluster of world-class sporting facilities. The massive Don Valley Stadium can accommodate 1,100 delegates in theater-style seating, the high-tech English Institute for Sport has meeting facilities for up to 120 delegates and the IceSheffield has arena seating for 1,500; its two rinks can be boarded over to accommodate conferencing, banqueting and exhibitions.
