Top University Place Venues

• Spaces for 80 Guests

• Spaces for 50-200 Guests
• 1 Ballroom
• 3 Event Spaces

AMVETS Post 1 — Alvah R. Dravis Post 1 — is a veterans organization hall in southwestern Tacoma, Washington, near the banks of Puget Sound. The post opens its doors to the community for weddings, graduations, birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and other special events. The heart of the venue is a spacious hall that divides easily into smaller rooms, so hosts can scale the space to the occasion: an intimate small-hall setup for 25 to 50 guests, a medium configuration for 75 to 100, or the full ballroom, which accommodates up to 200. A modern on-site kitchen stocked with basic supplies gives hosts the freedom to bring in their preferred caterer, and plenty of parking keeps arrivals simple. Every rental supports the work of the nonprofit veterans post that calls the building home.

• Spaces for 500 Guests

• Spaces for 250 Guests

• Spaces for 18-150 Guests
• 3 Meeting Spaces

The Mountaineers Tacoma Program Center sits in historic Old Town Tacoma. It overlooks Commencement Bay. The building serves as a hub for Mountaineers activities. It also hosts community and corporate events for private and public organizations. Local businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, and the general public can rent space here. The facility is newly renovated. It offers three rooms for meetings, training sessions, and social events. The Great Hall adjoins a caterer food staging area with modest kitchen facilities. It seats up to 85 guests theater-style. It accommodates up to 150 guests for a reception. The Classroom fits about 30 guests at tables or 42 theater-style. The Boardroom seats 10 guests around a table, plus 6 to 8 observer chairs. In 2024, the Tacoma Program Center completed a Net Zero Plus energy project. Solar panels and battery backup now let the building produce and store more energy than it consumes. Parking is available in a public lot at North 30th and North Carr Streets, plus on-street parking nearby.

• Spaces for 50-100 Guests
• 2 Outdoor Spaces
• 2 Gardens
• 2 Parks

Point Defiance Rose Garden offers two distinct settings for outdoor ceremonies and events: the Rose Garden Gazebo, which holds 30 to 50 guests standing amid the formal rose garden, and the adjacent Rose Garden Lawn, which comes with 100 chairs already set up and taken down by park staff. Both spaces are booked in two-hour blocks beginning at 11am, 2pm, and 5pm during the summer rental season, from June 1 through September 30, and are available Friday through Sunday. Cancellations made 90 or more days before the event receive a full refund less a cancellation fee, with a partial refund available for cancellations made 60 to 89 days out. The Rose Garden sits between the Lodge and the Gazebo within Point Defiance Park. Established in 1895 and accredited by the American Rose Society, the garden is maintained today by Metro Parks Tacoma and the Tacoma Rose Society and provides a rose-lined setting for weddings and other ceremonies.

• Spaces for 100 Guests
• 1 Outdoor
• 1 Waterfront
• 1 Park

The Fuzhou Ting is a 30-by-40-foot ornate Chinese pavilion set within Tacoma's Chinese Reconciliation Park, along the Ruston Way waterfront on Puget Sound. The pavilion was a gift from Fuzhou, China — one of Tacoma's sister cities — including its design, materials, and construction assistance, given in support of the city's Chinese reconciliation efforts. Managed for rentals by Metro Parks Tacoma through a partnership with the City of Tacoma, the Fuzhou Ting hosts small-scale outdoor private events such as weddings and ceremonies. The open-air pavilion accommodates up to 100 guests standing beneath its roof and along its outer perimeter, with the waterfront and Puget Sound as a backdrop. It is available seasonally from June through September, in two-hour rental blocks.

• Spaces for 150 Guests

• Spaces for 155 Guests

• Spaces for 150 Guests

• Spaces for 50-400 Guests
• 2 Event Spaces
• 2 Meeting Spaces
• 2 Venues with Activities

Guests arriving for an event at the Center at Norpoint often gather first in the Margaret McCormick Social Hall, where hardwood floors and an exposed beam ceiling open onto an outdoor patio at this Northeast Tacoma community center. Operated by Metro Parks Tacoma, the Center at Norpoint opened in February 1994 and quickly became a hub for the surrounding neighborhood — about 3,000 residents had signed up as members before its doors even opened, and the center went on to serve as a model for later Metro Parks facilities including the STAR Center and Eastside Community Center. The Margaret McCormick Social Hall can be rented whole or divided in half, accommodating gatherings from smaller half-hall parties up to full-hall events of 250 guests. A full kitchen — with two stoves, two ovens, a freezer, and a refrigerator — is available for an additional fee, outside caterers are welcome, and liquor may be served with a banquet permit. Beyond the hall, the center also offers its gymnasium and smaller meeting or party rooms for rent, giving groups a range of spaces to choose from for parties, meetings, and community gatherings.

• Spaces for 75-225 Guests
• 1 Ballroom
• 4 Event Spaces
• 4 Meeting Spaces

The Fife Community Center is a flexible event venue operated by the City of Fife's Parks and Recreation department in Fife, Washington. Its large banquet hall accommodates up to 225 guests and divides into three separate rooms with solid partitions, making it well suited to gatherings ranging from family reunions and birthday parties to weddings and business meetings. Each of the three rooms holds up to 75 guests and carries its own character: one features a fireplace, another a stage, and the third a pair of lighted alcoves with counter space. Two rooms can be combined to accommodate 150. Rentals include tables, chairs, a sound system, and complimentary Wi-Fi, with a full commercial kitchen available for an added fee. With no vendor restrictions, hosts are free to personalize their events, and free on-site parking is available. Discounted rates are offered to Fife residents.

• Spaces for 350-558 Guests
• 1 Event Space
• 1 Park

Pioneer Park Pavilion has anchored downtown Puyallup since it was dedicated in 2004, quickly becoming the city's premier rental facility. The building's centerpiece is a spacious 8,600-square-foot multi-purpose room, built to flex from farmers market mornings to full-scale receptions by evening. Every Saturday from mid-April through mid-October, the Pavilion fills up with vendors and shoppers as home to the Puyallup Farmers Market, one of the largest markets of its kind in the state. The rest of the calendar, the room hosts weddings, receptions, banquets, reunions, proms, and company parties for up to 350 seated guests, or as many as 558 for assembly-style gatherings. A kitchen stands ready for renters or their chosen caterer, and a staff member stays on site throughout every rental, keeping the day moving.

• Spaces for 350-558 Guests
• 1 Event Space
• 1 Park

Pioneer Park Pavilion sits inside Pioneer Park in downtown Puyallup, a community park anchored by a statue of pioneer settler Ezra Meeker and a Veterans Memorial, and known for its playground, chess tables, Rotary stage, and Kiwanis Kids Spray Park; the park also hosts the seasonal Puyallup Farmers Market and community concerts. The pavilion itself opened in the spring of 2004 and offers an 8,600-square-foot multi-purpose room, accommodating up to 350 guests for banquet-style seated events or up to 558 for standing, assembly-style gatherings, so it suits everything from weddings and receptions to reunions, trade shows, and corporate meetings. Rental of the pavilion includes stacking chairs, 60-inch round tables, a portable stage, and audio/visual equipment, and a full kitchen is available for use or for a hired caterer; the facility is ADA compliant, and staff remain on site throughout each event. Alcohol is permitted with a Washington State banquet permit, though the pavilion is a non-smoking facility. Reservations are accepted up to 18 months in advance, and full-day Saturday bookings are limited to mid-October through mid-April.

• Spaces for 200 Guests