Putting on an event in Brookings
What it takes to run an event in Brookings, South Dakota: 19 mapped venues, their stated capacities, and the travel around them. Sioux Falls Regional Airport is 81 km (50 mi) out.
Frost Arena states a capacity of 6,500. The dots show what event67 would bill at that head count, and where the price stops.
What Brookings has to put people in
Brookings has a recorded population of 24,555 (2024), inside the Brookings, SD area of about 36,000 people.
What is on the books here: 2 dedicated conference and function spaces, 5 arenas and stadiums and 12 independent event spaces.
That is roughly 77 venues per hundred thousand residents, which is a dense field for a city this size — you will usually have a second choice at the same capacity.
By type that is 12 event spaces, 3 stadiums, 2 arenas and 2 conference centres.
Conference and function space (2)
| Venue | Type | Stated capacity | From the centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auditorium-Armory | conference centre | not published | 0.4 km (0.2 mi) |
| Conference Center | conference centre | not published | 84 km (52 mi) |
Arenas and stadiums (5)
| Venue | Type | Stated capacity | From the centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frost Arena | arena | 6,500 | 1.7 km (1.1 mi) |
| Larson Ice Center | arena | 2,600 | 3.9 km (2.4 mi) |
| Brian Kern Family Stadium | stadium | not published | 41 km (25 mi) |
| Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium | stadium | not published | 1.8 km (1.1 mi) |
| Watertown Stadium | stadium | not published | 71 km (44 mi) |
Independent event spaces (12)
| Venue | Type | Stated capacity | From the centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Theatre | event space | not published | 34 km (21 mi) |
| International Vinegar Museum | event space | not published | 143 km (89 mi) |
| Arlington Masonic Temple | event space | not published | 27 km (17 mi) |
| Estelline Bandstand and Gazebo Park | event space | not published | 30 km (19 mi) |
| 5 Family Ranch | event space | not published | 84 km (52 mi) |
| Drammen Farmers' Club | event space | not published | 33 km (21 mi) |
| Dacotah Bank Center | event space | not published | 3.9 km (2.4 mi) |
| DeSmet Events and Wellness Center | event space | not published | 61 km (38 mi) |
| Flandreau Masonic Temple | event space | not published | 34 km (21 mi) |
| Madison Masonic Temple | event space | not published | 42 km (26 mi) |
| Old Masonic Temple | event space | not published | 82 km (51 mi) |
| Codington County Extension Complex | event space | not published | 71 km (44 mi) |
Every venue mapped in Brookings 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 Brookings can offer
Nothing in Brookings is classified as a convention or exhibition centre, so the largest rooms here are arenas, theatres and function spaces. The ceiling is 6,500 seats, at Frost Arena.
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.
Travel, time zone and arrival
Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) is 81 km (50 mi) away, far enough that arrival day is genuinely a travel day and a first session before noon will lose people.
Brookings keeps Chicago time (America/Chicago), which matters most for the remote speakers you are dialling in.
Sioux Falls, Mitchell and Worthington are close enough to draw from for a day rate, and to fall back on if Brookings has nothing free on your dates.
- Nearest major airport
- FSD
- Sioux Falls Regional Airport, 81 km (50 mi)
- Local time
- UTC−5
- America/Chicago, in September
- City population, 2024
- 24,555
- 36,000 across the Brookings, SD area
Worth knowing before you sign
No exhibition hall on record
Nothing in the Brookings 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
81 km (50 mi) from FSD means most attendees lose a morning to travel. Open registration the evening before and put nothing you care about in the first slot.
Pricing this against a real Brookings room
Take 950 people through the door in Brookings — sized to Frost Arena, the largest stated capacity in the Brookings dataset. The first 50 activated attendees are free on every event, so only the rest are billed, and the total stops moving at 1,000 however many more turn up.
- 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 Brookings 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 6,500 seats, Brookings can carry a full trade show or a multi-track annual meeting without splitting the audience across buildings.
- multi-track conferences
A 6,500-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 Brookings is set up for.
- training days and workshops
2 purpose-built function spaces are the easiest kind of room to run a workshop in — the power and the load-in already assume 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.
Questions people actually ask
Price a Brookings 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 Brookings?
Of the 19 venues mapped in Brookings, the largest stated capacity belongs to Frost Arena at 6,500. 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 Brookings?
Nothing in the Brookings 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 Sioux Falls. For a conference without an exhibition, the 19 venues on this page are the field.
Which airport do attendees fly into for Brookings?
Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD), about 81 km (50 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.
Can I run a small Brookings event on event67 for nothing?
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.
Keep reading
Nearby cities
- Holding an event in Sioux Falls
30 venues mapped
- Holding an event in Mitchell
2 venues mapped
- Holding an event in Sioux City
19 venues mapped
Up a level
Running something in Brookings?
Set the schedule, invite the room and watch who actually turns up. Free for your first 50 activated attendees, on one live event.