How to plan a concert seating chart

Updated 21 October 2026

A concert can fill the same room as a seated symphony one night and a standing crowd the next. The seating chart has to handle both, and make each ticket easy to understand.

Start with the stage

Every concert seating plan depends on where the stage is. In a purpose-built concert hall the stage is fixed, usually at one end, sometimes surrounded by seats on all sides. In an arena or multi-purpose hall, the stage moves from show to show: at one end, in the middle, or along a long side.

For each stage position you need its own plan. The same arena seat can be excellent with an end stage and behind the speakers with a centre stage. Do not reuse a plan for a different stage position without checking every block.

Sightlines

A seat is sold on what you can see and hear from it. When you place blocks, check the view to the stage from the front, back and ends of each one.

Side seats: blocks close to the stage at a sharp angle may see only part of it. Some productions mark these as side view or restricted view.
Behind the stage: with an end stage, seats behind it are usually closed. With a centre stage, they become some of the best.
Sound and lighting: the mixing desk, camera platforms, delay towers and speaker stacks block views. They take a different footprint in every production, so mark the seats behind them per show.
Overhangs: rear rows under a balcony may lose the top of the stage and some of the sound.

Mark poor-view seats as restricted view, or take them off sale for that show. Guests accept a lower price for a side view; they do not accept a surprise.

Blocks and tiers

Concert halls and arenas are divided into blocks, sometimes called sections, between the aisles and stairways. Each block has its own name or number, rows and seats.

Naming blocks

In a hall, blocks often follow the levels: Stalls (or Floor), Circle, Balcony, Boxes, and left, centre and right inside each. In an arena, blocks are usually numbered around the bowl, with the tier in the first digit (101, 102 in the lower tier, 201, 202 in the upper). The stadium seat numbering guide explains that scheme in detail, and the theatre seat numbering guide covers rows and seats in a hall.

Tiers

Upper tiers usually have their own entrances and concourses. Restart row numbers in each tier, keep blocks lined up between tiers where you can, and show each tier on the plan so a buyer understands that "Balcony, row A" is the front of the balcony, not the front of the hall.

Seated, standing or both

The floor in front of the stage is the most flexible space. Depending on the show it can be:

Fully seated: rows of loose chairs, numbered like a theatre stalls. Suits classical, jazz and many seated pop shows.
Fully standing: a general admission floor sold by capacity, with no seat numbers.
Mixed: a standing area at the front, seated blocks behind, or a seated floor with a standing pit right at the stage.

Around the floor, the fixed tiers stay seated in most cases. That gives the common concert seating chart: a standing floor plus numbered seats in the tiers, sold on the same map.

Mixing general admission and numbered seats on one map

Buyers should see the whole venue on one map, with standing and seated areas side by side. The map makes the difference clear.

Standing areas

Draw each standing area as its own shape on the plan, with a name and its capacity: "Standing floor, 2,000 places" or "Front of stage pit". Buyers choose how many tickets they want, not which seat. The number of people a standing area may hold is set by the venue's licence and local safety rules, so take that figure from the venue, not from the floor area on the plan.

If the standing floor is split (front and rear, left and right), give each part its own name and capacity, because each part is sold and entered separately.

Seated areas

Seated blocks keep their rows and seat numbers, and buyers pick individual seats. Every seat needs a stable ID so the booking system can store each ticket against it.

Telling them apart

Area	Sold by	On the ticket
Standing floor	Capacity	Standing, entry gate B
Floor seats	Seat	Floor block A, row 5, seat 14
Lower tier	Seat	Block 104, row 12, seat 7
Box	Seat or whole box	Box 3, seat 2

Use a different colour or fill for standing areas and show their capacity inside the shape. Put a category on each area (Standing, Floor, Tier 1, Tier 2, Box) so prices can be set per area.

Choir and orchestra seats

Many concert halls have seats behind or beside the stage: choir stalls, an organ gallery, side benches. When a choir performs, these seats belong to the performers. When there is no choir, they are often sold, usually at a lower price, because the audience sees the conductor's face instead of the orchestra's.

Keep these seats on every plan, numbered in their own block, and decide per concert whether they are on sale. Marking them not for sale for one show is safer than deleting them and drawing them again for the next.

Opening the plan in phases

Large concerts are often sold in stages: presale to members, then general sale, then production holds released close to the date. The plan itself does not change, but the seats on sale do. Keep holds visible on the plan as seats not for sale, so the box office knows which seats are still to come and does not sell them by mistake.

One room, several plans

A multi-purpose hall may run a seated orchestra on Monday and a standing gig on Friday. Keep one plan for each configuration rather than editing one plan back and forth. Seats that exist in both plans (the fixed tiers) should keep the same IDs and numbers in each, so season tickets and regular buyers recognise their places.

Give each plan a clear name: "Main hall, end stage, standing floor" or "Main hall, seated, orchestra on stage". Your box office team will pick the wrong one less often.

Practical details for concerts

Show the stage outline and its position on every plan.
Mark the mixing desk and any camera platforms, and the seats they block.
Show entrances to each tier and to the standing floor, so buyers see how they get in.
Mark wheelchair spaces and companion seats in seated and standing areas alike. See the accessible seating plan guide.
Keep seats that are never sold (production, house seats) on the plan, marked not for sale.

For publishing the map where buyers choose, see what a seat map needs for online booking.

Checklist

There is a separate plan for each stage position and floor configuration.
Sightlines are checked from the ends of every block.
Side-view and restricted-view seats are marked or off sale.
Blocks and tiers are named or numbered in one scheme.
Rows restart in each tier.
Standing areas have a name, a category and a capacity from the venue.
Seated blocks keep stable seat IDs across configurations.
Production and house seats are marked not for sale.

How seatorio helps

In seatorio you place the stage on the plan, draw each block as a section and fill it with rows of seats, straight or curved toward the stage. Rows can be lettered, numbered or roman, seats numbered from the left, the right or both ends, and each block is numbered on its own. A section can be sold by capacity instead of by seat: it shows on the plan with its name, the number of places and its category, so a standing floor sits next to numbered tiers on the same map. Sections can carry a floor name such as "Balcony", and the canvas shows one level at a time. Seats can be marked as restricted view, wheelchair or accessibility, or as not for sale. Each configuration is its own plan, and you can export a plan as JSON and import it again as the starting point for another configuration. The SVG export gives every seat a stable ID and its section and every standing section its capacity, and the JSON export adds row and seat labels, for your ticketing system. Start from the theatre seating chart template or see seatorio for theatres.

Planning for theatres? See seatorio for theatres and the theatre seating chart template.