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Maher Centre in Leicester is one of the largest event venues in the Midlands: a single pillarless hall seating 1,500 delegates theatre-style or 1,000 for a seated dinner, with 350+ free parking spaces and the M1 (Junction 21) 5–10 minutes away.
Once a conference passes about 500 delegates, the shortlist shrinks fast. Hotel ballrooms top out, university halls come with term-time restrictions, and the big purpose-built centres can be a long way from much of your audience. Organisers end up splitting plenaries across rooms, relaying talks by video, or paying for overflow space.
Maher Centre solves that with one open, single-storey hall of 1,100m². There are no pillars and no partition walls to work around. All 1,500 delegates sit in the same room, hear the same keynote and react together. That shared energy is hard to recreate in an overflow suite.
The venue is on Ravensbridge Drive in north Leicester, 5–10 minutes from M1 Junction 21. That makes it a natural meeting point for regional and national organisations.
Exact journey times depend on traffic. Put 15 Ravensbridge Drive, Leicester LE4 0BZ into your sat nav, and see our contact and directions page.
With hundreds of cars arriving, open registration early and spread the doors-open window. Parking is free, and our car park attendants keep traffic moving.
If your delegates are travelling as groups, coaches reduce car numbers. Agree drop-off times with us in advance.
At this scale the back row is a long way from the lectern. Add LED side screens or the large 7m-wide LED screen.
Brief your caterer on numbers and service points early. Our partner caterers know how the kitchen and hall work together.
Two private en-suite dressing rooms give keynote speakers, VIPs and production crews a quiet base.
The 12-hour booking includes set-up and pack-down, so large stage builds aren’t squeezed into an hour.
National conferences, annual member gatherings and all-staff briefings with a single main stage.
A day of sessions followed by a seated evening dinner, without changing venue.
Zone the 1,100m² floor so sponsors and exhibitors sit alongside the seating. See our exhibition guide.
Conventions, lectures and community conferences that need space for big audiences and family-friendly parking.
Councils, housing providers and membership bodies holding open meetings for large numbers.
Maher Centre does not provide catering itself. For large conferences we recommend a caterer from our partner network, teams who have worked the hall many times and know how to serve a thousand plates efficiently. You can also bring your own caterer through the Partner Programme. Caterers work from an industrial kitchen with four burners, a free gas supply and refrigeration. Beef and pork are not served on the grounds of the Maher Centre.
On AV, the hall has a full PA system, ambient LED lighting and staging as standard, with free guest Wi-Fi for delegates. LED side screens and the large LED screen are optional upgrades. Many large conferences bring a production company for cameras, streaming and show calling; they are welcome, and our event manager will work with them on access and power from the planning stage.
Every quote is written and individual, and our price-match promise applies to packages and optional extras. Compare with other corporate venues in the East Midlands, then come and see the hall. Tours are by appointment.
Tell us a little about your event and our events team will come back to you within one working day with availability and a written quote.