Venue hire

We are happy to discuss individual accessibility requirements and work to see these are met. However, as an overview, all our buildings are wheelchair accessible and have accessible toilets. You can find all building access information on our AccessAble site. We have a selection of rooms with a fitted induction loop and can support you in booking BSL interpreters.

As teaching is our main priority as a University, we can only advise on building/room availability once we have received your enquiry with date(s), time(s) and attendee numbers. Please complete this short form and we will come back to you on venue availability.

Our venues are flexible allowing you to use a variety of different spaces for your booking (dependant on availability).

To access our buildings on campus your delegates will require visitor swipe cards. We will provide these on arrival. You will be asked to return them at the end of your hire. There is a small fee payable for any cards not returned, to allow us to replace them.

Classrooms and Lecture Theatres - 1 to 470 delegates.

Student Centre:

• Social Spaces – 300 in each space
• Other spaces in the building vary depending on room layout. Please contact us to discuss options.

Foster Social Space – 200.

Outdoor spaces:

• Student Centre Roof Terrace – 120
• Foster Square – 2000
• University Square – 4000

Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre:

• Sports Hall – maximum capacity of 950. Bleacher seating for 250.
• Studio Blue – 75
• Studio Red – 50

The Sports Arena offers a wide range of facilities, the capacity of each varies depending on the sports activity taking place:

• Two 3G pitches
• Seven grass pitches
• One all-weather hockey pitch
• Four tennis/netball courts
• Six five-a-side AstroTurf football grids
• Indoor meeting room – seats 30 theatre style

Parking is not available on campus during the academic term. Outside of term time, we can often offer some parking, however, this may come at an additional charge. There are public pay and display parking options available nearby.

Preston Train Station is situated on the west coast mainline and along with Preston Bus Station, is a short 5 to 10-minute walk from the Preston City Campus. There are also taxis directly outside the train station.

We can provide a variety of catering options to suit any event, from working lunches, dinners, champagne receptions and outdoor vendors.

Our modern rooms include presentation facilities, Wi-Fi, as well as some in-house solutions for hybrid events. For large events, our experienced team can advise on event infrastructure options and liaise with suppliers if needed. 

A range of our venues have a Premises Licence, but not all.

Any licensable activity on campus must first be approved by our in-house licence holders.

Where you would like to host licensable activity in a venue without a licence, a TENs application will have to be made. We will liaise with you on this.

To query licensing on campus, please get in touch.

The majority of our buildings are open from 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday.

We have some availability at weekends. Please contact us to find out more.

Events held outside of our usual opening hours require prior approval from our Security Team. Please get in touch and we can request this.

Events held on our outdoor spaces must adhere to the terms of the licence in place for the event.

Utilities:

• University Square offers a wide range of power options, from 13amp sockets to 63amp.
• On University Square greywater is available for filling water weights. For sustainability reasons, we encourage the use of alternative weights for temporary structures where possible.
• Foster Square offers 13amp and 16amp sockets.
• Our Roof Terrace has a selection of 13amp sockets.
• Drinking water is not accessible in any of our outdoor spaces.
• Use of generators require review and approval by our health and safety team.

Toilets:

• Our Roof Terrace has two toilets in its foyer area.
• For events on University Square of 1999 attendees or less, toilets are accessible in our Student Centre from 9am to 4pm on weekdays. Use outside of these hours must first be approved by our Security Team. If you need this access, please just let us know and we will request it.
• We cannot facilitate indoor toilet access for events with 2000 or more attendees due to capacity limits.
• There are no indoor toilet facilities next to Foster Square.
• You are welcome to hire in portable toilets where needed.

Technology:

• Wi-Fi connectivity is available across all our spaces. We can offer access to a private network for food/drinks vendors to help ensure good connectivity for purchasing systems. Please request this in advance.
• Our roof terrace has an inbuilt PA system. This can be used to play music only. Please request use of this in advance.
• You are welcome to bring in PAT tested, outdoor suitable electrical equipment for your event.

Please note, access to power, greywater and indoor toilets may come at an additional charge.

We have CCTV and 24/7 security on campus. For large events or events that involve alcohol, you may be required to provide additional event security. We will review this with our Health and Safety and Security Teams as required.

We are committed to delivering sustainable events and can work with you to identify sustainable event options. Find out more about our organisational sustainability goals and processes.

Where requested in advance, our buildings team can rearrange the furniture in most rooms to suit your requirements. Please inform us of any venue set-up requirements when you enquire.

We can also hire in additional furniture and event infrastructure where needed, please contact us to discuss your requirements.

We are unable to host weddings and family parties on campus.