The Piece Hall: reinventing a heritage icon for the modern events industry 

A venue balancing multiple identities  

Few venues operate with the complexity of The Piece Hall. It is at once a heritage site, retail and F&B destination, live entertainment venue, and community hub.  

“That balance is a challenge,” admits Chance-Thompson. “Most businesses are one thing. The Piece Hall is many things - and that means we’re constantly balancing commercial activity with cultural and community responsibility.”  

Unlike many comparable cultural venues, The Piece Hall operates without national public funding. Despite attracting around three million visitors annually, it relies heavily on commercial income streams - from tenants and live events to private hire - to remain sustainable.  

“It’s a cocktail of income,” she explains. “But without events, particularly the summer series, we simply wouldn’t be able to stay open.”

The TK Maxx presents Live at The Piece Hall summer series brings world-class artists to the historic open-air courtyard, with this year's line up taking in a dizzyingly eclectic array of acts, including McFly, the Sex Pistols, Scissor Sisters, Madness, CMAT, Billy Ocean, James Arthur, Belle & Sebastian, Hollywood Vampires, Empire of the Sun, and David Byrne.

The venue has single-handedly put Halifax on the summer live music map, with new bars and restaurants popping up in and around the Piece Hall to cater for the thousands of music fans making their way to the West Yorkshire market town from June to September.

Corporate events: an under-the-radar opportunity  

While widely known for its live music programme, The Piece Hall is quietly building its corporate events offering.  

Spaces include the 150-capacity Caygill Rooms for conferences and private functions , two syndicate rooms, and an on-site gallery for exhibitions and receptions , as well as the expansive courtyard, which has hosted everything from film productions to large-scale activations  

The venue has already delivered high-level business events, including post-pandemic conferences bringing together government ministers and industry leaders.  

“It’s always been a place to convene ideas,” says Chance-Thompson. “From political discussions to organisations resetting their direction, it lends itself naturally to thought leadership.”  

Corporate planners often talk about authenticity and memorable experiences, looking for venues with character and cultural relevance that feel different from anonymous conference boxes. The Piece Hall delivers precisely that: a vast open-air courtyard, heritage architecture, intimate event spaces and a town-centre setting that feels more European piazza than West Yorkshire events venue. 

Commercial pressure in a changing market  

However, the operating landscape remains challenging. Rising costs, shifting consumer behaviour, and pressure on the hospitality sector all impact the venue’s ecosystem.  

“The cost-of-living crisis has hit retail and F&B hard,” says Chance-Thompson. “And we rely on those businesses to create the overall destination experience.”  

Security costs are also rising, particularly for open-access venues hosting large gatherings, adding further strain to event delivery.  

"Our role has always been about helping to regenerate the area, and we've demonstrated that in economic terms," says Chance-Thompson. "Through initiatives like the academy, which Aaron leads, we're also creating opportunity and ambition for young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to access industries that have traditionally been difficult to enter.

"But we're still relatively young. We've been open for 10 years, yet for two of those years we were closed because of the pandemic. There's still a huge amount to do. To keep building on that progress, we will need government support."

Despite these pressures, The Piece Hall has moved from deficit to surplus in recent years. But Chance-Thompson is aiming higher. 

“We’ve stabilised - but we want to thrive, not just survive,” she says. “Thriving means being able to invest, innovate, and create truly world-class experiences.

"That's really why public investment matters. It's about ensuring this extraordinary building - the only one of its kind left in the world - can continue to thrive. But we're not alone. There are many important cultural and historic assets across the country facing exactly the same challenge.

"Our intention is to bring some of those organisations together and have a serious conversation about what happens if these places disappear. We can't imagine a world without many of these cultural landmarks, and yet that's the reality some are facing."

Building the next generation of event professionals  

One of the venue’s most forward-thinking initiatives is its in-house Academy, designed to address a critical industry challenge: the talent pipeline. Launched initially as a volunteer-led programme, the Academy now offers an accredited Level 3 qualification in live events and music production in partnership with Calderdale College and University of the Arts London.  

Participants gain hands-on experience working on live events, including the venue’s summer series.  

“We’re not seeing enough young people coming into the industry,” says Casserly-Stewart. “So instead of waiting for that to change, we decided to build our own pipeline.”  

"The aim was simply to show young people how the live events and music industries actually work.

As part of that programme Casserly-Stewart, a music exec, singer, and former mayor from Kansas, brought over music producer Erik "Blu2th" Griggs. Griggs, who has worked with Dr Dre, spent two weeks in residence at Calderdale College, working directly with students.

"That was year one", says Casserly-Stewart. "This year we're taking it much further."

"We've been speaking with other arts organisations about potential partnerships, and they keep telling us that we're pioneering something that doesn't really exist elsewhere. There aren't many arts organisations or venues running programmes like this."

Life-changing opportunities

The Academy was Chance Thompson's idea, and it came from a very personal place.

"I'm conscious that when places regenerate, some communities can feel excluded from that journey," she says. "Calderdale still has areas of significant deprivation, and those challenges haven't gone away."

"I come from a working-class background. My life changed because I gained access to the arts and to opportunities, but that happened by chance rather than by design. I've often felt guilty about that because many of the friends I grew up with weren't given the same opportunities and ended up following very different life paths.

"The catalyst came when we were in a building next to The Piece Hall called Orange Box, which had originally been designed for local young people. Like many projects, significant capital funding had gone into creating the building, but there wasn't the operating funding needed to fulfil its original vision.

"I was there signing the contract with Live Nation and we were having a bit of fun in the space because it looked very rock and roll. There was a recording studio, instruments and all sorts of creative facilities.

"As I came out, I glanced into another room where a group of young people were taking part in something called Project Challenge. These were young people who had often been dealt incredibly difficult hands in life. I remember thinking: what are we doing for them?

"I turned to Peter Taylor from Live Nation and said, 'Peter, I want to start an academy. I want these young people to have an opportunity to do something different.'

"That's really where it began."

Chance-Thompson met Casserly-Stewart at an event in Leeds organised by Mayor Tracey Brabin, and they spoke about legacy and vision.

"The next day Aaron wrote to me and asked, 'How can I work with you? I just want to help make this vision happen.'"

Chance-Thompson, a self-styled "tenacious bugger", adds that ideas are easy, but are nothing without implementation.

"I come from a commercial background and I think there are two ways to approach a problem. You can spend your time pointing at it and talking about it, or you can focus on finding solutions.

"The arts sector has had a difficult decade, probably a difficult 15 years, but I'd rather spend my energy creating opportunities than simply discussing what's gone wrong.

“It’s about opportunity,” she adds. “Talent is everywhere - but access isn’t.”

Rethinking programming and representation  

The Piece Hall is also using its platform to challenge industry norms - particularly around diversity in live events programming.  

“There’s still an imbalance in who gets booked and who gets backed,” says Chance-Thompson. “We have to question assumptions about what sells - and who gets the opportunity.”  

Working with promoters, the team is actively pushing for more diverse line-ups while maintaining commercial viability, a balancing act familiar to many in the events sector.  

A model for the future?  

For corporate event planners, The Piece Hall represents more than just another venue option. It reflects a broader shift in the industry: towards spaces that combine experience, authenticity, and purpose. But its long-term future - and that of many similar venues - may depend on wider structural change.  

“If places like this disappear, it’s not just a local issue, it’s a national one,” says Chance-Thompson. “The question is whether we value these spaces enough to sustain them.”  

As the events industry continues to evolve, The Piece Hall offers a compelling case study: a venue navigating commercial reality while pushing for cultural and social impact. For planners looking to create meaningful, memorable events, that combination may prove increasingly valuable.