The Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier

I came to Broadway Pier for Makers Arcade, and it was such a beautiful, unique venue for the all day event! Morning had crisp ocean air, sunset radiated through the windows on all sides.
The curators of Makers Arcade did a phenomenal job selecting this special spot for their craft, music and food fest! It’s such a special venue, but it’s also very concrete industrial, so those curators also did a great job of creating sitting spaces and lounges for people to rest and relax around. All in all, a really cool space made even more cool by the folks who curated the craft show!
Parking is distant and expensive, but worth it to be in such a unique space as long as you know that going in.

I might be the first bride to review this venue. I’m doing it for all of the future brides!
You don’t pick the port pavilion because it’s cheap or easy. You pick it because you love it. You love the views. You love the location. That love will guide you through the tortuous process, and when it’s all over, you will say it was so worth it.
Pros:
1. The views. Location was really, really important to us. A lot of our guests were from out of town. We wanted them to feel like they were in San Diego. On the bay and downtown– you really can’t beat it. 180 views of the city and bay!
2. There is outdoor space! There’s a little balcony off the broadway view room where our guests could go to get away from noise, or enjoy the water views outside.
3. Once you book, you are the only event for that day, and you can go pretty much as late as you want. You get it for 24 hours!
4. The venue is large and can hold weddings of over 500 people. By the wedding date, we had 126.
5. Sheila, the property manager, has thrown tons of shindigs at this place and is really helpful
6. You can bring in your own alcohol. We saved BIG on this with our open bar.
7. There are no preferred vendors. Book whoever you want! (AS LONG AS THEY HAVE INSURANCE!!!)
Cons:
1. It’s a cruise ship terminal. Like, it looks like the airport on the inside. If you’re going for a ‘romantic/​rustic’ look, this venue is going to throw a serious wrench in that, unless you can pay for tons of pipe and draping. We could not afford that, so we just embraced the space in all of its glory.
2. Cost. We had our event in the broadway view room on a saturday. We didn’t want to worry about it being too hot or too cold. We paid $ 3,750 + $ 1,500 deposit. What do you get with this? The room for 24 hours, an almost unlimited amount of chairs, and nine auxiliary tables. That’s it. The janitorial services and security services came out of the deposit. We got $ 750 back when it was all said and done.
3. No parking! The best host would simply just provide a shuttle to and from the hotel. If you don’t you’ll do what we did and just let everyone fend for themselves. This is also true for vendors. They are only allowed to park at the port pavilion for ‘active’ loading and unloading. We had our family members drop off our old people at the front, since that is active loading and unloading, and then they went and found parking. There is also an elevator for people in wheelchairs.
4. It’s a public building. We were on high alert for wedding crashers. We didn’t have any, not even at our ice cream truck!
5. Permits! If the plan is not correct when submitted to the fire marshall, they can cancel your permit for your event. If your plan is not executed properly upon inspection on the day of, they could cancel your event. We submitted our plan twice because we changed it after our initial application because we added tables.
6. No Kitchen! Whatever catering company you hire, make sure they know what they’re doing! Abbey Catering had to build a kitchen for us, which resulted in us needing a few extra hands in terms of staffing costs. Food trucks would be a really great choice for this venue.
Overall, using this space meant we would have a lot of moving parts to this event. But we were able to make sure that the details that mattered to us were taken care of, and didn’t focus on the rest. If you love San Diego, and you want to show it off, this is the perfect venue for you.

People paid VIP at Latin food festival (which was amazing !! Btw!) however VIP section was held inside Broadway Pier it was hot and muggy no air conditioning. It wasn’t worth it. It was best outside and the food was amazing Latin Food Festival I give you 5 as for Broadway Pier you get Perhaps next year we could go back to Embarcadero

Incredible views of the San Diego Bay and breathtaking sunsets. Almost impossible to top an outdoor stage + live music surrounded by water and the historic USS Midway. You’re in the heart of downtown SD /​/​Gaslamp

I haven’t been to an event here, just walked onto Broadway Pier to watch the sunset.
It’s great that they have tables, chairs, and benches at your disposal. This is a really good place to chill with a book, have a quiet conversation with an incredible view to distract you from whomever you’re talking to, or spend to time peacefully to yourself.
Unless its the weekend. Everything’s crowded on weekends.
My advice: bring something to keep you warm if you’re watching the sun set when it isn’t summer. The wind can pick up and freeze you over.

This is a beautiful space set in probably the most picturesque location you could choose in San Diego! I was here for Fashion Week San Diego Fall 2014 week of events. The setup was fantastic! There are two outdoor paid parking lots within walking distance and line of sight. (Sigh of relief!)
I am not sure of how other events utilize the space, but you can do pretty much anything you wanted in here with the use of pipe and drape partitions. Staff was fantastic and the surrounding area and views can’t be beat!

I came here for a beer festival and the location is spectacular. The views of the water, the midway and the buildings that surround it are just amazing. Coming to places like this makes you remember why we live here =) there is a parking right next to the pavillion next to the midway and best part is that it’s only 10.00 all night. Hard to believe for downtown. Great venue to do any event. It made the beer festival even better. What can be better than great beer, live music and an amazing view.

Lots of space. I’ve attending several events here to include the Mayor’s celebration, Reader Food and Wine Event, and Fashion Week San Diego.
The pavilion is HUGE!!! The last event I attended is the Mayor’s celebratory party when he got elected into office. The entire pavilion was filled with people, food and drink vendors, tables and 2 stages. I couldn’t believe how many people they were able to fit inside! The 2 stages fit well — one of each side — for performers.
The food and drink booths were all along the sides, with the bar smack dab in the middle. Tables and chairs filled the empty spaces in between.
The only downfalls were the bathroom situation, which we were located outside the pavilion, and parking. Unless you want to pay $ 15 for valet, you would have to walk a couple blocks for free or metered parking.

It looks really nice inside. Very spacious and modern.

Fashion Week San Diego is here all next week and I’m lucky enough to be a sponsor. I can only speak as someone using the space as a piggyback onto this larger event but wow, the staff is so hospitable and easy to work with. I’ve loaded in stuff, asked random questions and been to a couple walk throughs during the event planning process: And trust me, with a huge space like this it could get complicated but it hasn’t-whew!
The amazing venue woulda been kickass cruise ship central if only those cartels hadn’t gotten so cray cray. Boats moved away from the SD Port and alas, we were left with a stunning, but fairly empty, terminal.
What do San Diegans do when we’re down and out? We turn situations like this into party central. This joint is now perfect for your intimate gatherings of 5,000 people (maybe even more!) and available for rent for all kinds of events.
I don’t know if all organizations who use the space pull out all the stops like FWSD does, but the possibilities here are endless. The front of the building will be amazing and park-​like once the remodel is down but for now? Strut your stuff, it’s the official fashion week playground.

I went here last Friday for the Reader Feast. The place is awesome with a great view! The restrooms are small so there is always a wait. Next year when the Reader Feast comes back, I will definitely check it out again. Lots of booze, wine, and food!

Came here for Reader Feast with the gang! Camilla is an avid reader of the free magazine because she says it makes her feel in the know about the various happenings SD has on offer. I think she reads it partlybecause it is free because she loves a good deal
Went with the VIP tickets because I was wondering about the gift bag, excited about the two drink tickets that came with it, and craving to get in an hour before the rest so that I could stuff my gob first.
The venue itself is home to a lot of festivals. I went to a beer fest here on a rainy night and it was cold and miserable. But this last time it was nice and thankfully not overly hot. It has a large inside, and a smaller outside area that has a great view of the water and sunsets.
The Reader Feast itself was surprisingly good! There were a ton of great food stands and even food trucks offering everything from steak and crab cakes to tacos and pizza. There were some veggie options but not a ton.
There were also a large amount of wineries, beer makers, and even spirits. Seriously after visiting Lagunitas I was unsure if I would need my drink tickets.
Don’t worry, my hangover I the next day told me I HAD decided to get those drinks!!!
People were really friendly and polite. It was one of the better tasting events I have been to! BB and Camilla had a great time being social and dance/​singing to the Cure (even if we were the only ones).
Would love to go again!

I came here for the San Diego Half Marathon expo. There was a lot of construction going on around this place. It was actually a nice location for an expo. The facilities was pretty nice, clean, and spacious on the inside. You get a very nice view of the USS Midway just across the way. There was plenty of nearby parking options from meters to paid parking lots.

HUGE venue! Came here for SD Brewer’s Guild. There was plenty of space for booths out front, inside, upstairs, and out back on the pier. The views of San Diego are beautiful and the windowed walls and high ceilings make the space very open and airy.

Came here for the SD Reader Feast. The venue was gorgeous! It was very spacious, even with the number of booths present at the event. I also loved the outdoor area in the back, since the view of the bay was amazing. I hope they host more events here, especially in the summer.

I was at this venue for the Pro Player’s Foundation event to help raise money for multiple sclerosis. It was a very large venue that had a great area in the back to walk out for some fresh air. All of the glass portions of the venue created a breathtaking view of the sky, ocean, and a part of North Island. It had more than enough space to house several tasting tables, silent auction setups, a medium sized stage for a band and a smaler stage for the live auction held at the end of the evening. Everyone seemed to really like the venue so hopefully it will be chosen again for the next Flavors of Gaslamp fundraiser event by the Pro Player’s Foundation.

Beautiful new building down near the Cruise Ship Terminal. To me it looks like a blue-​green boat house, but it is actually a «multi-​use facility that will serve the public as a space for events and gatherings.» According to the Port District website, the new building on the Bay will be a «Cruise Ship Terminal that will accommodate 2,600 passengers, have a Shore Power System and is designed to be the Port’s first „green“ building (photovoltaic system, reflective roof paint, low-​flow toilets, urinals and faucets.»)
A quick walk around the Port Pavilion designed by Bermello Ajamil and Partners, Inc. showed the 52,000-square foot building to be a good fit on the nautical Port District property. It blends into the marine environment, although some architectural critics would say otherwise. Also Port Pavilion is an Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building. The project is estimated to cost $ 21.1 million.
A grand opening celebration took place the weekend of 12/18−12/.21 and include an Open House, carnival rides, prizes, radio personalities, an Indian Blessing Ceremony, and musical performances, among other things. Additionally, in the front of the Port Pavilion is a beautiful work of art-​a colorful design by Leni Schwendinger titled «Tidal Radiance» that blends into the marine colors of the building. But at night, the artwork transforms the façade into a dynamic, richly colored, form that projects patterns onto the pier’s surfaces. It is quite a unique sight.
I can see where some people might think this building might be considered an eyesore as it does take away from the bay view but San Diego did need more room for the cruise ships and Port Pavilion does just that.