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Hosting an event in Aurora

What it takes to run an event in Aurora, Illinois: 20 mapped venues, their stated capacities, and the travel around them. O'Hare International Airport is 42 km (26 mi) out.

seats at Huskie Stadium, the largest room on record in AuroraOne dot ≈ 1,000 attendees

Huskie Stadium states a capacity of 23,595. The dots show what event67 would bill at that head count, and where the price stops.

Aurora venue landscape

Aurora has a recorded population of 180,710 (2024), inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area of about 9.4 million people.

What is on the books here: 1 dedicated conference and function space, 3 arenas and stadiums, 2 theatres and concert halls and 14 independent event spaces.

By type that is 14 event spaces, 3 stadiums, 1 theatre and 1 performing-arts centre, plus a longer tail below.

Conference and function space (1)

VenueTypeStated capacityFrom the centre
Faranda's Banquet Centerbanquet hallnot published40 km (25 mi)

Arenas and stadiums (3)

VenueTypeStated capacityFrom the centre
Huskie Stadiumstadium23,59543 km (26 mi)
NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complexstadiumnot published43 km (27 mi)
Glidden Fieldstadiumnot published42 km (26 mi)

Theatres and concert halls (2)

VenueTypeStated capacityFrom the centre
Egyptian Theatertheatrenot published41 km (25 mi)
Paramount Arts Centerperforming-arts centrenot published0.6 km (0.4 mi)

Independent event spaces (14)

VenueTypeStated capacityFrom the centre
Paramount Theatreevent space1,8850.6 km (0.4 mi)
Gray's Mill Estateevent spacenot published3.8 km (2.4 mi)
Egyptian Theatre, DeKalbevent spacenot published41 km (25 mi)
1222 Private Eventsevent spacenot published7 km (4.3 mi)
Hollywood Casino Auroraevent spacenot published5.8 km (3.6 mi)
La sierraevent spacenot published4.6 km (2.9 mi)
Northern Illinois University Convocation Centerevent spacenot published43 km (27 mi)
Venue 5126event spacenot published13 km (8.3 mi)
Eastside Community Centerevent spacenot published10 km (6.3 mi)
Aurora Elks Lodge No. 705event spacenot published0.5 km (0.3 mi)
Masonic Templeevent spacenot published1 km (0.6 mi)
batting cagesevent spacenot published8.5 km (5.3 mi)
Lincoln Innevent spacenot published7.9 km (4.9 mi)
Civic Center Aqutic Park Concession Standevent spacenot published6.8 km (4.2 mi)

Every venue mapped in Aurora appears above. The ones with enough published detail to be worth reading have their own guide and are linked; the rest are named here, which is honest about what the record holds without giving each of them a page made of three facts.

The biggest spaces Aurora can offer

Nothing in Aurora is classified as a convention or exhibition centre, so the largest rooms here are arenas, theatres and function spaces. The ceiling is 23,595 seats, at Huskie Stadium.

Capacities are the figure the venue or an encyclopaedia entry published. They are usually the seated maximum, and the same room in banquet or reception layout can differ by half. Confirm the layout you want before you plan around a number.

Flights, time and distance

O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is 42 km (26 mi) away, far enough that arrival day is genuinely a travel day and a first session before noon will lose people.

Aurora keeps Chicago time (America/Chicago), which matters most for the remote speakers you are dialling in.

Naperville, Yorkville and Wheaton are close enough to draw from for a day rate, and to fall back on if Aurora has nothing free on your dates.

Nearest major airport
ORD
O'Hare International Airport, 42 km (26 mi)
Local time
UTC−5
America/Chicago, in September
City population, 2024
180,710
9.4 million across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area

Things that catch organizers out here

No exhibition hall on record

Nothing in the Aurora dataset is classified as a convention or exhibition centre, so a trade floor needs either an arena floor, a fairground, or a nearby city. Check the arena listings above before you promise exhibitors a booth plan.

Arrival is a half-day

42 km (26 mi) from ORD means most attendees lose a morning to travel. Open registration the evening before and put nothing you care about in the first slot.

The city is smaller than the market

180,710 people live in Aurora itself, but about 9.4 million live in the wider Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. Your local audience is far bigger than the city line suggests, and so is the commute your day-rate attendees will make.

Pricing this against a real Aurora room

Suppose 950 attendees claim their invite and open the app at a Aurora event sized to Huskie Stadium, the largest stated capacity in the Aurora dataset. Here is exactly what event67 charges, with the free 50 taken off the top.

activated attendees
950activated attendees
billable, after the first 50 are free
900billable, after the first 50 are free
for the whole event, at $5 each
$4,500for the whole event, at $5 each

You are billed for people, not for the venue, so the room you choose in Aurora does not change this figure. Nothing is charged for an attendee who registers and never opens the app.

Matching the room to the format

With a stated ceiling of 23,595 seats, Aurora can carry a full trade show or a multi-track annual meeting without splitting the audience across buildings.

  • multi-track conferences

    A 23,595-seat room carries a plenary with breakouts running alongside it.

  • association annual meetings

    An association meeting needs one big room, several small ones and a hotel block, which is the combination Aurora is set up for.

  • festivals

    An arena or stadium floor at 23,595 takes an audience no conference venue in Aurora can.

  • sports tournaments

    The same rooms already run fixtures, so load-in and crowd flow are solved.

  • award ceremonies

    2 fixed-seat houses give you a stage, lighting and sightlines without building any of it.

Where this data comes from

  • GeoNames, CC BY 4.0
  • US Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 estimates
  • Wikidata, CC0
  • Geographic data © GeoNames, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  • Venue data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License.
  • US population figures are US Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
  • Retrieved 3 September 2026. event67 has no commercial relationship with any venue listed.

Last updated

What it costs

Free up to 50
activated attendees, on one live event
$5
per activated attendee beyond 50
$4,750
the most one event can ever cost, whatever happens past 1,000

Activated means the person claimed their invite and opened the app. Not when you import them, not when the invite is delivered, and not if they register and stay home.

See the full pricing

Questions people actually ask

Price a Aurora event at 950 attendees — what is the total?

950 activated attendees means 900 billable after the free 50, so $4,500 for the event. The price is $5 per activated attendee beyond the first 50, and the total for one event stops at $4,750 however many more attend. Activated means the person claimed their invite and opened the app. Not when you import them, not when the invite is delivered, and not if they register and stay home.

What is the largest venue in Aurora?

Of the 20 venues mapped in Aurora, the largest stated capacity belongs to Huskie Stadium at 23,595. Capacities in open data are the figure the venue itself published, and they are the seated number rather than a standing or exhibition figure, so confirm the layout you actually want before you plan around it.

Can you run a trade show in Aurora?

Nothing in the Aurora dataset is classified as a convention or exhibition centre. A trade floor here means an arena floor, a fairground or a venue in a nearby city such as Naperville. For a conference without an exhibition, the 20 venues on this page are the field.

Which airport do attendees fly into for Aurora?

O'Hare International Airport (ORD), about 42 km (26 mi) from the city. It is the highest-traffic airport within reach in this dataset. Local time is America/Chicago; publish every session in that zone and let attendees' phones convert it.

What happens under 50 attendees?

One live event with up to 50 activated attendees costs nothing. Beyond that it is $5 per activated attendee beyond the first 50, and the total for one event stops at $4,750 however many more attend. Activated means the person claimed their invite and opened the app. Not when you import them, not when the invite is delivered, and not if they register and stay home.

Running something in Aurora?

Set the schedule, invite the room and watch who actually turns up. Free for your first 50 activated attendees, on one live event.