Creating Multi-Purpose Venues: Five Retractable Seating Projects from Around the World

Overview & Capacity:
Sacramento, California, USA | 915 retractable seats (2,500 total venue capacity) 


Seating Challenge:
Creating a venue that could quickly adapt between live concerts, meetings, trade shows, boxing and MMA events, and charity events while maintaining spectator comfort.


Technical Solution:
Installed a 15-row automatic retractable seating system equipped with high-back Espace chairs and integrated cup holders. The system allows variable row openings depending on the event scale.


Benefit Value:
Supports a wide variety of event configurations while reducing changeover time between events.

Overview & Capacity:
Macau | Nearly 800 seats | 1,000 sq m multi-purpose event space


Seating Challenge:
Transforming former meeting rooms into a multi-purpose event space for banquets, gaming events, and live concerts, featuring a three-sided, 500 sq m UHD LED wall.


Technical Solution:
Installed a fully automatic Retractable Seating System with side stairs on both sides and middle-tier setting capability to accommodate different event layouts.


Benefit Value:
Enables rapid space transitions for entertainment and corporate events while supporting a wider range of event configurations and maximizing venue utilization.

Overview & Capacity:
London, UK | 1,306 retractable seats | Grade II listed historic venue


Seating Challenge:
Replacing a complex 30,000-part manual seating kit that took four days to assemble around historic Victorian ironwork columns, while enabling off-site container storage.


Technical Solution:
Engineered a custom 54-unit modular retractable seating system with fold-down Espace chairs, integrated hydraulics for easy mobility, and a custom loading system for shipping container storage.


Benefit Value:
Reduced installation time from four days to under 24 hours and cut labor costs, providing greater flexibility for concerts, immersive performances, and community events.

Overview & Capacity:
Sydney, Australia | 130 retractable seats


Seating Challenge:
Introducing a modern retractable seating system into a compact black box performance space while respecting the building's heritage design.


Technical Solution:
Installed a power-operated retractable system using customized Evolve chairs with limewash-finished white birch armrests, antique patina rails, specialized downward aisle lighting, and a flush balcony storage layout.


Benefit Value:
Allows quick space reconfiguration between theatre productions, TV broadcasts, and live events while respecting the venue's architectural identity.

Overview & Capacity:
Michigan, USA | Approximately 1,400 seats | Collegiate multi-purpose arena


Seating Challenge:
Creating a flexible seating environment for both volleyball and basketball while providing a collegiate-level spectator experience and making efficient use of the arena's compact space.


Technical Solution:
Installed an automated Premier Platform with POLARIS Multi-Purpose Seating, paired with telescopic bleachers. The seating system can be expanded and retracted at the push of a button.


Benefit Value:
Allows a single facility manager to quickly reconfigure the seating for different sporting events, while providing comfortable seating and an energetic atmosphere for approximately 1,400 spectators.