The Crane Bay

Solid event space that can host medium to large parties. I have been here for corporate functions and business events and enjoyed being in this space.
You can break down the space into three components. When you first walk in from the main entrance, there is a reception area with the bar in the middle. This is a more intimate environment for a reception to a main event. As you proceed to the main event space, there is a stage that can be set up for speakers or musical acts. The space is large enough and can easily accommodate sit-​down dinner parties. My favorite part is the outdoor patio to the left of the main entrance. There are couches and fireplaces and offer a nice place to take a break from whatever event you were attending.
For large events, the main bar can get crowded so satellite bars throughout the building is a must. At least based on my experience, the food I had at various events were merely okay. Perhaps this is just a function of the catering company that was deployed during the event. The Crane Bay has on-​site parking but is slightly off the beaten path for a downtown location. There are no immediate locations nearby for an «after-​party». But overall, The Crane Bay offers a cool space and a chic environment for large events.

Attended the Colts VIP tailgate here and had a completely different experience than a previous reviewer. Arrived at will call at 12:40(venue opened at 1:00) and waited less than 5 minutes in line. Upon opening of the event, went to outside patio and found comfy seating on a gorgeous sunny day. There was little to no wait at this bar and seemingly no wait at those inside plus none at the roving beer carts. The food lines were long about an hour into the event, but the first hour and the last hour there was a short line or no line. The food was excellent, especially the filet! The slider burgers were readily available from passing trays served by wait staff. Maybe fewer people were in attendance this day but it was well worth the $ 75 fee and obviously the visiting team fans thought so as there were plenty! The next home games will likely be poorer weather and this would be a nice alternative to outside tailgating. The staff particularly bartenders on east patio were very friendly and efficient. Only complaint is too many smokers! They should ban smoking on the outside patios or at least restrict it to one patio.

I attended the VIP Tailgate party here for the Colts vs. Patriots game and was sadly disappointed with the entire event. It felt like they grossly overbooked the venue, I was there with 3 friends and upon arrival we walked through the entire venue and could not find any available seating anywhere. There were a lot of empty tables that were reserved for businesses but other than that everything else was taken.
Since we couldn’t find a place to sit we decided to get in line for food and see what happened and in the beginning the lines for the food and bars were manageable. After we got our food we ended up finding a cocktail table outside that had the 4 of us huddled together trying to enjoy the food and it was so small that our plates and drinks kept bumping into one another. This was less than ideal, and we had to alternate going to the washrooms (where there were always lines) or going to the bars to re-​up on drinks, if we didn’t people would have taken our super small table.
Eventually we got tired of just standing there and decided to risk not having a table and walked around to see what they had up for their silent auctions, while there was a lot of nice memorabilia, it was all very highly priced. I only saw 1 item that had even a single bid on it. Then the Microsoft station that had the Xbox’s playing Madden ’16 was just impromptu child care, all of the stations had 10 – 12 year olds playing against one another.
Then maybe an hour into the event, they started closing down the most accessible bar outside and either stopped stocking the Morton’s buffet or just couldn’t keep up with the number of people there. Once this happened the lines at the other bars doubled if not tripled in size increasing the wait time for everything.
The event is $ 75 for all that you can eat and drink, but the 2^nd time I went for food there was nothing but french fries and small plates and the lines for the bar would easily take you 15 – 20 mins of standing there before you could be served. Now keep in mind this event is advertised as lasting 3 hours so if every time you want more food, if it’s available, you may spend 10 mins waiting in line for fries and then another 20+ mins waiting in line for drinks. Then once you are through the line you don’t have any tables to sit or stand to set your plate or drinks down so that you can enjoy them.
One other thing, upon purchasing the event tickets the ad stated there would be Colts cheerleaders and/​or Colts alumni attending as well. If this happened we never saw them, maybe we were standing in line when they showed up or were huddled around the cocktail table in the outdoor area but there wasn’t any noticeable announcements stating their arrival.
So given my experience I would never attend another Colts VIP Tailgate party here again, the big sell for the tickets are the open bar and food, but if it takes you 30 mins to get through those lines and then you fight for a small table with no chairs int he corner because they overbooked everything just makes it not worth the money.

I had my wedding here and I was amazed by the quality of service that they provided. The food was exceptional and the service was impeccable. Our wedding was huge and they did an amazing job catering to all of our needs. It was everything I wanted and they went above and beyond to make that happen for us on our special day. I would recommend it as a wedding venue it is well worth it! It is gigantic and it enables freedom and flexibility to design an event however you would like.

I came here recently for an event and left with a pretty good impression. I had no idea this place existed! It featured two large areas that would be perfect for awards ceremonies, large company dinners, weddings and corporate parties. The catering staff was friendly and always quick with a refill. Parking was plentiful and free which is always nice for a downtown event space. The only negative was a poorly functioning sound system that had many guests going «What is he saying?» and missing nearly every joke as it came out garbled. It would definitely be an issue if you had a band playing an event here. All in all a great event space!

I have attended 2 paid events at this venue and they will be the last. It was oversold to say the least, and terribly overcrowded. If the events were free and I couldn’t get to the vendor tables, it would be different, but I paid my money and left frustrated and hungry.
The location is quite pretty.

I can say prior to my visit to Crane Bay, I didn’t know this little gem was hidden in our city. I attended a Colts VIP tailgate here and was very happy with my experience. I would like to give my review based on the venue itself rather than just for the tailgate, although I would recommend it if you have the chance… well worth the money!
The venue is very spacious and clean. It also had a really great outdoor area with a fireplace built in. I think it would be awesome for a corporate event. I would say my only reservations for a wedding reception venue would be the industrial crane parts that are part of the décor.
They do have a parking lot, but I would question given the size of the venue if there are enough spots to accommodate many guests.
Overall, I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn’t for the factors that seem limiting from a parking and décor perspective. I am not sure how it compares price wise to other venues, but it certainly seems like a great place to have an event.

Definitely wasn’t expecting this to be a nice meeting spot. And by golly, I was proven wrong. I went here for a Digital Marketing Summit the other day and as I was driving to The Crane Bay, I began to have the thought of … «am I really heading in the right direction?» Things weren’t exactly sparkly and «event like» on that side of town. The Crane Bay seemed to be the exception.
As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by staff, walked up a few stairs and was shocked at how clean and put together it was inside. This would be the ideal spot for not only a meeting space, but a Christmas party, wedding reception or even an over the top birthday ordeal.
The cherry on top? There’s quite a large parking lot outside! Believe me, you don’t find many of these downtown.

was just there for our friends wedding… what a great place… the food was fantastic and the bar staff rocks… very outgoing and friendly bartenders… our sales manager amanda was the best…

This is a very nicely put together event center! I worked there for Daredevil Brewing for the Julian Jam a few weeks ago. The staff is top notch and everything about the place shouts class. The food was great and the event was a huge success. I hear they have a tailgate there before Colts home games and hope to make it for that one day. If you need a huge space for your next event, see these guys. Unilocal elite event here in the future? Oh I hope so!

Went here for a daytime event a couple months ago and was very impressed with the space, both inside and outside! Very cool lounge furniture and firepits on the patio and thought the utilitarian/​warehouse vibe inside was pretty cool.
One negative — when I went, it was in February or March and the weather was pretty cool. The building was VERY cold, especially the bathroom! :(
Would definitely look into this venue if I were planning an even downtown!

This place is ok. The catering is not as bad as I could have expected. However, they cannot seem to keep up with the bathrooms and the ladies room was out of control. Toilets were flooded and closed on one side, there were paper towels all over the place and the room was running out of toilet paper. Even though the women’s bathroom was enough to give this place one star, the outside patio has great potential and the space is large.

I was here for a Christmas party. I gave this place three stars because the ladies restroom was disgusting. One row of stalls was closed down because of a flooded toilet and the other side also had toilets that were Running over. The sink and mirror area was also a mess. Outside of the bathroom situation the facility was perfect for a big party.

Was here on Saturday night for a private event, Rolling Stone/​Bacardi Superbowl bash. Love how they fixed up the place with an airplane entrance and different theme sections inside. Great job. Lupe Fiasco, Travie McCoy, and LMFAO did their thing on stage. I had a blast!