Venue Tech Pack Checklist: What Visiting Productions Need

TL;DR — A venue tech pack tells visiting productions what the room can actually provide: contacts, access, measured stage and loading dimensions, installed PA and control systems, stage I/O, monitors, microphones, power, backline, lighting, video, communications, schedules, policies, and known limits. Record quantities, models, locations, connector formats, availability conditions, and a revision date. Separate installed inventory from rentals or request-only items, and confirm every show against the artist rider.

Table of contents

1. Define the pack's purpose
2. Document access and measured spaces
3. Inventory audio and stage systems
4. Add power, lighting, video, and facilities
5. Keep the pack current and advance each show
6. FAQ

Define the pack's purpose

An artist tech rider states what a show needs. A venue tech pack states what the venue has, where it is, how it connects, and under what conditions it is available.

The pack should help a visiting production answer:

• Will the show physically fit?
• Can equipment reach the stage?
• Which audio inputs, outputs, and console workflows exist?
• What monitor, microphone, stand, cable, and backline inventory is available?
• Where is power, and who may connect it?
• What must be rented or artist-supplied?
• Who approves changes and operates house systems?
• Which schedule and venue rules affect production?

It is not a marketing brochure and should not promise subjective performance. Avoid phrases such as concert-grade PA without model, configuration, coverage context, and a technical contact.

Document access and measured spaces

Contacts and operating hours

Put current names and role-based contact methods near the front:

• venue production manager;
• technical manager;
• house audio lead;
• lighting/video contacts;
• event or promoter contact;
• emergency and after-hours process;
• normal load-in, soundcheck, doors, curfew, and load-out constraints.

Role-based addresses age better than personal contact details, but the pack still needs a named show contact during the advance.

Loading route

Document:

• vehicle access and restrictions;
• loading-bay location and hours;
• dock height;
• maximum door, corridor, elevator, stair, and turn dimensions;
• elevator capacity and booking process;
• distance from load-in to stage;
• parking and bus/truck rules;
• shared public routes;
• accessibility constraints.

Use the narrowest measured point, not only the main door. A flight case that passes the dock may fail at an internal turn or elevator.

Stage and room dimensions

Publish:

• total stage width and depth;
• measured usable performance area;
• stage height;
• clear height;
• wing or storage space;
• stairs and accessible routes;
• permanent obstructions;
• riser inventory and dimensions;
• FOH, monitor, broadcast, camera, and mix-position footprints;
• audience capacity only in the approved venue configuration.

Add a dimensioned plan when possible. Mark whether values are measured or nominal and include the date.

Read Stage Dimensions on a Stage Plot for the distinction between overall, usable, and minimum dimensions.

Inventory audio and stage systems

PA and system control

List:

• loudspeaker manufacturer, model, quantity, and installed position;
• subwoofers, fills, delays, and balconies;
• system processor and control ownership;
• supported inputs to the system;
• visiting-console handoff;
• venue engineer requirements;
• known coverage limitations;
• noise limits or measurement process where applicable.

Do not publish a maximum SPL claim unless it is measured, permitted, contextualized, and maintained by qualified staff. Local limits and event conditions may control the actual operating level.

Consoles and stage I/O

For each console system, record:

• surface and engine model;
• software or firmware version;
• stage-rack model and location;
• installed cards;
• physical analog and digital input/output count;
• transport between stage and FOH;
• supported sample rates and clocking responsibility when relevant;
• guest access policy;
• show-file submission process;
• console-sharing or support-act constraints.

Separate a console’s processing capacity from installed sockets. Visiting engineers need the configured system, not a headline channel count.

Input split and broadcast

State whether the venue has:

• analog split;
• direct and isolated outputs;
• digital sharing between compatible systems;
• broadcast or recording console;
• press feeds;
• recording policy;
• network access.

Use the Microphone Splitter Tech Rider checklist for gain, phantom-power, and patch ownership.

Monitors and communications

List:

• wedge, sidefill, and drum-fill models and quantities;
• amplifier/processing system;
• maximum available mix and physical-output configuration;
• wired IEM feed capability;
• wireless IEM inventory and tuning bands;
• cue wedge/headphone system;
• talkback and intercom;
• house RF coordination contact.

Do not state 8 monitor mixes without explaining whether stereo IEMs consume paired buses and outputs.

Microphones, DIs, stands, and cables

Maintain a count by model or functional type:

Remove broken or unavailable equipment from the published count immediately.

Add power, lighting, video, and facilities

Electrical power

Provide:

• supply locations;
• connector types;
• voltage and frequency;
• available circuits or distribution under venue control;
• stage convenience outlets;
• audio, lighting, and vendor power boundaries;
• tie-in policy;
• qualified electrician or house responsibility;
• restrictions on artist distribution.

Do not invite visiting crews to calculate or connect venue mains from a PDF alone. The pack supports advance planning; qualified venue staff approve and operate the final distribution.

Lighting, rigging, and video

List:

• lighting console and current software;
• fixtures and positions;
• dimmer or power/control distribution;
• patch and universe information;
• house plot;
• haze or effects policy;
• rigging points, load data, and approval process;
• projector, screen, LED, switcher, camera, and confidence-monitor systems;
• video inputs and supported formats;
• network and content-delivery policy.

Rigging capacity must come from current venue documentation and qualified approval. Never infer it from a drawing.

Backline and furniture

Separate:

• venue-owned;
• rental partner;
• request-only;
• permanently installed;
• unavailable.

Give exact models, quantities, condition notes, and substitution process for drum kits, amplifiers, keyboards, DJ equipment, risers, tables, chairs, stools, music stands, and stand lights.

Facilities and policies

Include production-relevant information:

• dressing rooms and production office;
• toilets, showers, laundry, and accessibility;
• secure instrument/storage areas;
• Wi-Fi and wired production network policy;
• catering and water contact;
• merchandising location and power;
• recording and photography rules;
• fire, haze, pyrotechnic, confetti, and open-flame policies;
• hearing and noise-management procedures;
• safeguarding or house-specific access rules.

Keep hospitality detail concise or link a separate venue pack so technical facts remain easy to scan.

Keep the pack current and advance each show

Revision control

Put these fields on every exported copy:

• venue and room name;
• version or revision date;
• pack owner;
• contact;
• change summary;
• source-of-truth URL.

Review after equipment, staffing, room, access, power, policy, or software changes. Also schedule a periodic physical inventory so the document does not preserve missing equipment.

Advance against the artist rider

For each show:

1. compare the artist rider with the current venue pack;
2. mark confirmed, substituted, rented, artist-supplied, or unavailable items;
3. resolve stage fit and loading route;
4. reconcile input, output, monitor, RF, and power needs;
5. assign operators and control boundaries;
6. agree schedules;
7. update the show-specific handoff;
8. circulate the final version.

Do not silently edit an artist requirement into something the venue owns. Record the difference and obtain agreement through the advance.

Use How to Advance a Show for the complete timeline.

Publication checklist

• Contacts and revision date are current.
• Loading-route dimensions include the narrowest point.
• Stage dimensions distinguish total and usable space.
• Installed audio systems list configured I/O and software.
• Monitor, microphone, DI, stand, and cable counts are physical inventory.
• Power locations and venue responsibility are clear.
• Lighting, video, rigging, and effects policies are current.
• Owned, rented, request-only, and unavailable equipment are separated.
• Known limitations are stated plainly.
• A source-of-truth URL replaces uncontrolled old attachments.

Common venue-pack mistakes

Publishing a brand list with no configuration. Include quantities, locations, cards, connectors, software, and ownership.

Using room dimensions as stage dimensions. Measure total and usable stage space separately.

Counting broken or shared stock twice. Publish available physical inventory.

Leaving the revision date off. Visiting crews need to judge whether the pack is current.

Treating the pack as show confirmation. Advance every artist rider against real availability.

FAQ

What should a venue tech pack include?

Include contacts, loading access, measured stage and room plans, PA, consoles, stage I/O, splits, monitors, RF, microphones, DIs, stands, cables, power, lighting, rigging, video, backline, facilities, policies, schedules, known limits, and revision information.

What is a venue technical specification?

It is the venue’s factual production document: what systems and spaces exist, how they connect, who operates them, what is available, and which constraints visiting productions must advance.

How often should a venue tech pack be updated?

Update it whenever equipment, software, staffing, access, stage layout, power, policies, or inventory changes. Also perform a scheduled physical review and show a visible revision date.

Should a venue tech pack list equipment models?

Yes when models affect compatibility, files, connectors, operator workflow, or replacement planning. Include quantity, configuration, location, condition/availability, and software—not only brand names.

What stage dimensions should a venue publish?

Publish total width and depth, measured usable performance area, height and clear height, stage elevation, wings, stairs, access routes, obstructions, risers, and relevant mix or camera positions.

Give visiting teams one current venue source

Build a reusable venue Rider in Techrider.live, invite house production staff to edit and save it, inspect history after changes, and share the current link with every visiting team.

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Last updated: 2026-07-28 · Reviewed for venue access, measured spaces, audio and monitor systems, power, lighting, inventory, policies, and revision control.