Venue Fee Question

[DarkLouis331]

Okay, sorry if I sound kind of noob-ish, but what exactly are venue fees used for? I know that they go toward the rental of the venue. But what happens if there is money left over after paying for the venue or if the venue is free? Where does the money go then?

The reason I'm asking this is because I'm thinking about starting local tournaments at my university. We can rent out rooms for free, so I was wondering if a venue fee would be needed at all. My main concern is setups because I'm lacking in that department right now...many tournaments waive the venue fee if a full setup is brought.

Since the room is free, I was thinking about charging a smaller venue fee (about $2) so that it would encourage people to bring setups and get the fee waived. Any venue fees collected would go toward the Wii fund my gaming club has, and not to myself. (They're trying to raise money to get a Wii and Brawl)

Basically, I want to know if it is fair to charge a venue fee if the cost of the room is free.

Anyways, I have never organized a tournament before and I'm looking out for the best interests of my attendees. I thought some guidance from other TO's would help.

 

[pockyD]

venue fee goes towards renting the venue, getting chairs, tables, power strips, anything really

it's not unheard of for part of the venue fee to go into the TO's pockets, and there's nothing blatantly wrong with that (if it's a reasonable amount) as long as your intention to do this is disclosed and made public in advance

 

[Atlus8]

Since the room is free, I was thinking about charging a smaller venue fee (about $2) so that it would encourage people to bring setups and get the fee waived. Any venue fees collected would go toward the Wii fund my gaming club has, and not to myself. (They're trying to raise money to get a Wii and Brawl)

$2 venue fee is great! Anything left over is yours pretty much! I would suggest buying tvs since most people don't wanna carry that thing around!

 

[D20]

If the room is free, use the venue fee for some drinks and pizza.

 

[Kantō]

im going to use leftover venue fee money to buy more things for setups (wiis, TVs, power strips , extension cords and stuff like that) you could always be a nice guy and use the money for a special prize or sumthing

 

[DarkLouis331]

If the room is free, use the venue fee for some drinks and pizza.

Hey, not a bad idea. I guess I'll keep the venue price low and use it to make the tournament better.

 

[Rappster]

i think you could safely up the fee to $5 because its just as convenient for most ppl (i, for one, don't carry around $2 bills), and brings in a lot more money (relatively speadking)

 

[The_Fool]

If the venue is free, theres no venue fee.
Any leftovers from the venue fee should go into the prize pool.

 

[pockyD]

If the venue is free, theres no venue fee.
Any leftovers from the venue fee should go into the prize pool.

spoken like someone who has never run a tournament

 

[Brado]

We're so lucky at our regionals, the guys parents cook us all pizza and leave us like unlimited cans of soda. All for free ;D /offtopic

I like what the dude said about buying food and drink, it really helps when nobody has to leave the venue for food/drink.

 

[SharkAttack]

$2.00 would be nice without a doubt but $5.00 for a venue fee isn't bad at all. Not only that but it would give you a lot more money with each tourny you host if you were to host a tournament once every month or two. Any higher than $5.00 could possibly deter people unless they were flat out awsome and could basically place in the top 3 each tournament to win the prize money. I've never hosted a tournament but this is my recomendation. I wouldn't worry about supplying food and beverage. It's nice but it's more money out of your pocket and at UT they've got a food court upstairs and around the corner anyways let alone a snack machine right near where the tournament would take place.

 

[Rappster]

complementary food would be a draw for me

 

[pockyD]

it's not complementary if you're paying the venue fee for it

i wouldn't charge a venue fee if you intend to just spend it all on food; let people choose what food they want themselves

 

[HelpR]

charging a venue fee is NOT a bad thing, while most people would prefer to not pay the venue fee, the amount of work that goes into a tournament can be pretty large, and while you can probably pocket the venue fee, you should really just take the money and put it towards the next tournament.

For example, if you have money from a past tournament, you can offer complimentary food for the upcoming one. You can also buy a Wii and a copy of brawl for personal use. Free drinks can actually go a rather long way and most people appreciate being able to quench their thirst for free

Keep in mind, most universities are actually rather spacious, and most rooms you use for a tournament, if they are comfortable, will be considered worth a 5 dollar venue fee. Keep in mind many people pay venue fees up to 10 bucks just to be able to stand around in a crowded, humid room full of people who usually smell a tad, just so they can watch a big name brawler play.

If you get a low turnout, don't be disappointed. most first time tourney venues dont get much attendance unless a big name TO is backing it. As long as the venue is comfortable, word will usually spread, and it really only takes 2 or 3 really good crews to help get the word out. Unlike most venues, college tournaments have the massive advantage that they dont need to worry about paying a person for using the venue space during the tourney, so if the first tourney has a really low turnout, they don't have financial problems to deal with.

Be a good TO, keep an eye on the equipment, have someone handling the money and holding it, and most of all, try to be a good host.

Hope your first tourney goes well, and good luck!

 

[Omegawabo]

The real question is... Would you pay 5 green bills to play in a tournament with a lot of friends? I have to say YES! If some guy is taking all the job of organizing and getting all the players together, you wouldn´t pay him a couple of bucks? I have to say YES AGAIN! Do what you want with the money, don´t feel embarased.

 

[altairian]

The real question is... Would you pay 5 green bills to play in a tournament with a lot of friends? I have to say YES! If some guy is taking all the job of organizing and getting all the players together, you wouldn´t pay him a couple of bucks? I have to say YES AGAIN! Do what you want with the money, don´t feel embarased.

Organizing tournaments for your own profit is just silly. It's not like you don't get to enjoy hanging out with the same people and playing in the same tournament as everyone else that comes. And bringing people together is rewarding in and of itself, using it to turn a profit just feels shady to me.

I think that using the venue fee to help out your gaming club is a great idea. As long as you're up front with people about where their money is going, people won't have a problem with it. Food and drink for a long (over 5 hours) event is also a very good idea. A lot of people won't want to leave the venue to go get food. You can also consider not charging a venue fee but charging for food/drink to cover those costs.

 

[CRASHiC]

Good luck to anyone who hopes to make money.
I barely broken even when I ran my tournament. Its really not pluasable.

 

[Omegawabo]

Im Just Saying that If someone takes all the time and effort to make a good tournament you wouldn´t reward him paying him a little bit? It seems a bit cheap to me (not to pay him of course, jajaja).
Its not Shady, the guy its doing all the work and you are sitting and playing. Sure your chair its Comfortable. Dont take it as a Charge for people to play, Think it as a Fixed Donation, jajajaja.

 

[Ballistics]

i hope everyone goes to vegas and gets some legal prostitution with that leftover money

 

[pockyD]

it's not shady if everybody knows in advance that you plan on taking a cut

the people who have some moral protest for whatever bizarre reason (and a lot of smashers do because they tend to have some ridiculous self-entitlement issues) can see that and choose not to come

 

[Ballistics]

it's not shady if everybody knows in advance that you plan on taking a cut

the people who have some moral protest for whatever bizarre reason (and a lot of smashers do because they tend to have some ridiculous self-entitlement issues) can see that and choose not to come

I am one of these people.

 

[Stratford]

<3 broke smashers.

 

[PathToEternity]

Wouldn't bother me for a TO to pocket some cash. It's a stinkin' lot of work I didn't have to do.

 

[Ballistics]

if you have tvs and wiis then yea ill pay you, but if we bring the tournament we're not bringing the door fee

 

[metalmonstar]

Even if the TO doesn't provide a TV or a wii they are still doing a large amount of work. They have to run the event, which means they have to setup the bracket, put up with the players who complain about the bracket, keep the tournament moving, handling disputes, managing and handling the money, organizing the event, contacting the venue, and advertising. A TO is like a one man company. It is wrong not to expect him to get something out of this considering the work he is put in.

From personal experience, I put in about 2 hours the night before doing setup. I put in about 1 hour in the morning doing setup, then two hours at night doing tear down. Not to mention the countless hours you spend planning, anticipating, and interracting before the tournament even occurs.

Yes you can make money off being a TO. It is a good idea to be upfront though, but it really should just be expected. The truth is you aren't going to make good money. For the time and effort you put in you are better off just working that weekend rather than running the tournament. That is the main thing really, you can't give the TO enough money to justify them to hold the event for monetary reasons. TO's make sacrifices, and it has and will always be about the game, community, and competition.

Also if you want to start a business doing tournaments, go for it. You are going to take losses. You are going to put in tons of work just to get started. Double that to even get to a point where you break even. If you are good, one day you will be rewarded. Video games are becoming more and more popular. Within the next 10 years or so being a professional event organizer could be very profitable. As of now it really isn't and you have to expect and know that.

Hopefully that helps.

 

[Ballistics]

Even if the TO doesn't provide a TV or a wii they are still doing a large amount of work. They have to run the event, which means they have to setup the bracket, put up with the players who complain about the bracket, keep the tournament moving, handling disputes, managing and handling the money, organizing the event, contacting the venue, and advertising. A TO is like a one man company. It is wrong not to expect him to get something out of this considering the work he is put in.

From personal experience, I put in about 2 hours the night before doing setup. I put in about 1 hour in the morning doing setup, then two hours at night doing tear down. Not to mention the countless hours you spend planning, anticipating, and interracting before the tournament even occurs.

Yes you can make money off being a TO. It is a good idea to be upfront though, but it really should just be expected. The truth is you aren't going to make good money. For the time and effort you put in you are better off just working that weekend rather than running the tournament. That is the main thing really, you can't give the TO enough money to justify them to hold the event for monetary reasons. TO's make sacrifices, and it has and will always be about the game, community, and competition.

Also if you want to start a business doing tournaments, go for it. You are going to take losses. You are going to put in tons of work just to get started. Double that to even get to a point where you break even. If you are good, one day you will be rewarded. Video games are becoming more and more popular. Within the next 10 years or so being a professional event organizer could be very profitable. As of now it really isn't and you have to expect and know that.

Hopefully that helps.

Lol you can't make a business running tournaments

 

[pockyD]

wow, yes you can

 

[Ballistics]

wow, yes you can

A lan center is different than a professional tournament runner, surely you mean a lan center

 

[metalmonstar]

I meant in the future professional tournament organizer could be profitable business. However I believe there is such a thing as event planner that is a decent job in which you plan a wide range of activities. Certainly one could do that and have tournaments as something they also run for whatever organization they work for.

Lan Centers use tournaments to bring in people and get extra revenue for the weekends. Certainly tournaments are a good way for them to increase profits. A person could certainly open there own lan center and become profitable running tournaments at their Lan center.

As of now if the TO wants to make a business they are going to have to compliment their tournaments with a pre existing industry.

 

[DarkLouis331]

If the venue is free, theres no venue fee.
Any leftovers from the venue fee should go into the prize pool.

I am an idiot. I really should've thought of this earlier. Thanks for your input everyone.

 

[pockyD]

a Lan Center Is Different Than A Professional Tournament Runner, Surely You Mean A Lan Center

Mlg ?

 

[Ballistics]

Mlg ?

lol which dropped melee and brawl

 

[metalmonstar]

lol which dropped melee and brawl

Wait what does that have to do with whether or not they are professional tournament organizers? Who says you have to run Smash only. That in itself seems silly. If you are really serious about being professional then you and your company should run a wide range of games.

 

[altairian]

lol which dropped melee and brawl

Funny I don't recall his post saying "smash brothers tournament organizer".

Sort of bringing this around and also tying in with the current debate...the TO shouldn't take money from players for his own profit. Tournaments are about more than the money (why would people bother showing up that know they can't win if it was only about money?), it's about the community and competition and fun. Yes, the TO does do more work, but the TO should be doing it because they WANT to and they ENJOY it. That's why I'm going to be running tournaments.

To tie in to the current debate, if you're running major tournaments with sponsorships and such, it's not unreasonable to expect a little paycheck out of the deal. Organizing an event like that is a monster responsibility and requires a lot of effort and planning. The sponsor should be the one paying you to organize a successful event though, not the players. That's just my opinion on the matter.

 

[Ballistics]

true i thought we were just talking about smash, if youre talking about all games I think there should be alot more leagues like mlg, for example colleges and universities could make school teams for all sorts of video games, I think there is huge money it

 

[Magik0722]

I dont think that a TO should be paid for the work he puts in


because then a TO would be a Job and not something you are doing for your smash community