Facts About Knoxville's Sunsphere
by Martha Rose Woodward (from the web site of profilicbiz)
The Sunsphere is available for rental. Individuals as well as any licensed, reputable catering companies are welcome to hold events on Floor 6. Property Managed by Apollo Asset Management Exclusive Booking Agent: Prolific Living/Sara Spangler
DescriptionAn Iconic venue with a 360 view! One of only two structures left from the 1982 World's Fair.Capacity is 2 to 350! Most popular for weddings & receptions, social & corporate functions...but is gaining popularity for school proms & banqets
General Information
Managed by Apollo Asset Management Exclusive Booking Agent: Prolific Living/ Sara Spangler Hours of Administrative Office 9am - 5pm Hours available for rental: 7am - 3am ... Event Venue: The 6th floor holds up to 350 guests All licenesed approved caterers will be accepted Bar service by approved and licensed vendors
The Sunsphere Event Floor The 6th floor of the Sunsphere is the largest floor of the structure, and is the only floor available for event rentals. The Event Floor boasts a 360-degree view of Knoxville with floor to ceiling windows. Nicknamed by many guests as “The Social Venue – the Sunsphere Event Floor’s design encourages conversation and movement. Everyone has experienced an event where one group stayed on one side of the room and another group “cliqued’ off to the opposite side. The circular layout affords our guests the opportunity to enjoy the entire room and socialize with more of the crowd. Promoting conversation amongst your guests are the different landmarks in Knoxville to experience on each side: North, South, East and West. We offer a variety of specialty room set-ups and have a generous amount of food and bar service tables ready for use. The Sunsphere Event Floor also offers a fantastic audio -visual system with surround sound and 3 HD Plasma flat-screened televisions tastefully mounted in focal points of the room. Weddings have become popular on the event floor as the room can easily be “flipped” from rowed seating/ceremony to reception set up. From corporate power lunches and promotional dinners to intimate weddings, the Sunsphere has hosted a variety of events since re-opening in November 2010. Our grand re-opening in March in conjunction with First Friday hosted over 600 people over the course of the evening and afforded the general public the opportunity to experience a party at the top! We are proud to be able to offer our clients numerous choices for having a custom party to fit their needs. We allow any caterer of choice to service events and can refer various bar service options. Rentals are for three hours - additional time can be added at $350 per hour. Adequate set up and break down time is provided for every event. We have the following tables/chairs that come with the venue rental
- (150) Chiavari Mahogany Chairs with black chair cushions - (15) 60' round guest tables (can seat 8-10 people per table) - (2) 6 foot rectangular tables - (2) 8 foot rectangular tables - (1) 48' round cake table - (3) Glass and wood high top cocktail tables - Complete audio/visual system, i-Pod docking station, and 3 flat screen plasma TV’s &surround sound throughout event floor Every event rental is different; pricing will be in line with venue demand and size of party. For the quickest rental quote and venue availability, please e-mail your request to sara@sunsphereeventrentals or call direct to 865.363.9538 Phone calls received by 4pm on a business day will be returned as quickly as possible, however e-mail quotes can usually be delivered within minutes of a request and also on weekends.
The Sunsphere building is owned by the City of Knoxville. The iconic landmark features a Public observation deck on Floor 4, and a large Event Venue on Floor 6. Private businesses occupy floors 5, 7, and 8 - including the administrative offices of Cardinal Enterprises, Apollo Asset Management, and Prolific Living. The 266-foot tall structure was renovated in 2007 and is leased from the City by the developers of the renovation project; Kinsey Probasco Hays of Chattanooga and Knoxville based Cardinal Enterprises. The Developers hold a 20-year lease on the Sunsphere building. Apollo Asset Management (a division of Cardinal Enterprises) manages floors 5-8 of the property and also controls the lease agreements on the Event Floor. In late 2010 Apollo Asset Management entered into an agreement with small Event, Media, and Public Relations firm Prolific Living to exclusively book the Event Floor. Prolific Living serves as the liaison between any Sunsphere Event Floor client and Apollo Asset Management. The Firm coordinates referrals and communications between clients and vendors associated with any party held on the Event Floor and maintains excellent relationships with Knoxville’s most trusted event professionals. While some of these companies are listed on our Partner Page, we welcome the opportunity to work with any proven event professional of our client’s choice. Prolific Living was chosen to represent the Sunsphere icon to offer Event Floor clients the benefit of their vast experience and knowledge of private events in the Knoxville area -as well as in larger markets such as Nashville and Los Angeles. The relationship offers a sense of security for the Event Floor client due to the contracts being held by a long-term landlord. (Apollo Asset Management) The affiliation between Apollo Asset Management and Prolific Living is a perfect balance of solid contractual implementation and savvy event direction and execution. The Sunsphere Event Floor is proud to work closely with The Public Building Authority to double our efforts in promoting the historic park for your next event. Weddings at the Amphitheater (the only other surviving structure from the 1982 World’s Fair) coupled with a reception on the Sunsphere Event Floor have become a very popular option for Knoxville brides. In addition, large festivals and fundraising events on the World’s Fair Park Lawn can rent the Sunsphere Event Floor - a VIP kick-off or wrap party over-looking the park is an impressive extra for festival vendors and contributors! The Observation Deck (housed on Floor 4) is managed by Public Building Authority, as are any other rental areas on the World’s Fair Park grounds. For any questions pertaining to the Public Observation deck or other World's Fair Park properties, please visit worldsfairpark.org or call Dorissa Simpson at 865.251.6861 To view other innovative and inspiring projects from Kinsey Probasco Hays or Cardinal Enterprises, please visit these links:
kphdevelopment.com cardinalgroup.net












