Headingley Stadium

You can seat up to 450 people theatre style or for dinner in one room with windows facing both the cricket ground and the rugby pitch, then drive delegates in and park them free on a site with 350 spaces. Headingley Stadium is the home ground of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Leeds Rhinos, about three miles from Leeds city centre, and its event spaces sit in stands rebuilt in a £45 million development in 2019. Sodexo Live! runs the events and catering.

Event spaces and capacities

The venue publishes ten suites plus 12 private stadium boxes, so you can run a plenary, breakouts and a dinner without leaving the ground. The Howard Suite is the largest, at 471 m² and almost 48 metres long, taking 450 theatre style, cabaret or for dinner. The Long Room has the most floor area at 547 m² and the highest standing figure after it, 400 for a reception. For exhibitions, the venue says its spaces take up to 42 stands, and the Howard Suite alone takes up to 40 six foot trestle tables.

Capacities as published by the venue in its 2026 events brochure and areas from its suite pages, checked 5 November 2026. A blank cell means the venue does not publish that layout. The Presidents Suite figures come from its own page only. Where the suite pages and the brochure differ (Howard Suite dinner dance, Lewis Jones theatre, Executive Suite classroom, Taverners cabaret), the brochure figure is shown.

Getting there and parking

Delegates arriving by train have two local stations, Burley Park and Headingley, which the venue puts five to ten minutes’ walk away, with Leeds station in the city centre for main line services. By road you leave the M621 at Junction 2 and follow signs for the stadium on the A643, reached from the M62 at Junction 27 or the M1 at Junction 43. The brochure lists on-site parking for 350 cars, Blue Badge spaces and EV chargers, and the meetings page says parking is complimentary with your event. Leeds Bradford Airport is about six miles away and Manchester Airport about 58 miles. The venue also has a bicycle park.

Catering, AV and accommodation

You get food and AV from one team, which keeps the number of contracts down. Catering is in-house, and the venue says menus use local suppliers and seasonal produce; for self-catered events it keeps a list of approved caterers. Its published Day Delegate Package costs £43.95 per person with a light lunch, or £53.95 for the premium version with a hot fork or finger buffet, and both include room hire, staging, car parking, a conference host and use of the in-house screens. The brochure lists AV as included in most suites, and the Howard Suite has 10 plasma screens and colour changing LED lighting. Headingley Lodge, a four star hotel in the grounds, has 36 bedrooms overlooking the cricket pavilion. The venue says it holds Green Tourism Silver accreditation, that its stands use LED lighting and solar panels, and that accessible toilets are close to each event space.

What to ask before you book

• Which capacity applies to your layout, given that the suite pages and the 2026 brochure give different figures for four suites?
• Whether your dates clash with Yorkshire cricket or Leeds Rhinos fixtures, and how a match day affects access, parking and the pitch views.
• Whether VAT is included in the £43.95 and £53.95 Day Delegate Package prices, and the minimum numbers they apply to.
• For an exhibition, which suites make up the 42 stand total, and what the access route and loading arrangements are for stand build.
• How many of the 350 parking spaces and EV chargers can be held for your delegates, and whether Blue Badge bays can be reserved.
• Whether rooms at Headingley Lodge can be held as a block for delegates staying the night before.

Related on Events Review

• Conference venues in Leeds
• Stadium and sports venues
• Conference and exhibition venues
• Elland Road, Leeds
• first direct bank arena, Leeds
• Royal Armouries and New Dock Hall, Leeds
• Weetwood Hall Estate, Leeds
• Trent Bridge, Nottingham
• Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
• Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham
• Choose the venue around the event, not the headline capacity
• Turn venue accessibility claims into a usable event plan

Sources: 2026 events brochure, suite pages, meetings, exhibitions, Day Delegate Package, travel, accommodation, sustainability and the stadium, checked 5 November 2026.