Outdoor exhibit space costs a fraction of indoor hall space and gets you room for equipment you could never bring inside. The catch is that the structure is now your responsibility rather than the show's — and show management will have opinions about it.
Beyond Tent supplies commercial-grade tents, flooring and display equipment to exhibitors, expo organisers and event marketing agencies across the United States, shipping from six US locations.
Who this is for
- Exhibitors buying an outdoor booth structure they will reuse across a season of shows — the case where buying beats renting fastest
- Equipment and vehicle exhibitors who cannot fit their product through a hall door
- Expo and fair organisers providing uniform vendor structures across an outdoor midway
- Agencies running mobile tours and activations across multiple markets
- Demo and test-drive areas where the product has to be experienced outdoors
- Hospitality suites adjacent to a show for meetings away from the floor noise
Booth sizing — use the industry grid
Trade shows sell space in a standard 10-foot grid. Buy a tent that matches it rather than one that nearly matches it, because a structure that overhangs your assigned space is a problem you will be made to solve on move-in morning.
| Booth | Tent | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| Single (10’x10’) | 10’x10’ | Counter, banner, two staff. The entry-level presence. |
| Double (10’x20’) | 10’x20’ | Product display plus a conversation area |
| Corner / island (20’x20’) | 20’x20’ | Full display, seating, demo space, storage |
| Large island (20’x40’) | 20’x40’ | Vehicles, machinery, staged demonstrations |
| Anchor exhibit | 30’x60’+ | Multi-zone: demo, hospitality, meetings |
Check your actual assigned dimensions before ordering. Tent footprints need a few inches beyond the fabric for legs and ballast, and some shows enforce the grid to the inch.
10-foot-wide and 20-foot-wide frame tents map to the grid. Frame tents are clear-span, which for a booth is essential — a centre pole in a 20x20 booth destroys the layout.
Show rules — three approvals, not one
Exhibitors routinely discover these in the wrong order.
- Show management. Most shows publish an exhibitor manual with rules on structure height, footprint, sightline restrictions and whether tented structures are permitted at all in outdoor space. Read it before you buy.
- The venue. Convention centres, fairgrounds and stadium lots have their own requirements, and they are frequently stricter than the city's. Almost universally: no staking. Ballast only.
- The fire marshal. NFPA 701 flame certification will be requested. Certificates are available to download — carry printed copies to move-in, because being asked at the gate is common.
Our permit guide covers the municipal layer.
Ballast, always
You will be on asphalt, concrete or a hall floor. Staking is not available and usually not permitted. Weight at every leg, sized to the structure — and use base plates or pads to spread the load, because leaving marks on a venue floor is a chargeable event.
Outdoor expo areas are typically exposed with nothing to break wind. See hard-surface anchoring for weight requirements, and have a wind threshold agreed with show management before the doors open.
The structure is the booth
At a trade show your tent is not a shelter, it is a advertisement that people see from across a field. Custom printed tops and sidewalls put your brand at a scale no pop-up banner reaches, and for an exhibitor doing four or five shows a season, a printed tent is reusable inventory rather than a per-show expense.
Printed pop-up tents for smaller activations, or full custom printing on commercial tops. Call for artwork requirements and lead time — printing is the part that needs planning, not the tent.
Equipment
Flooring
Event carpet and flooring. A carpeted booth reads as professional and an uncarpeted one reads as unfinished — it is the cheapest upgrade in perceived quality available to an exhibitor.
Booth structure
Pipe and drape to create back walls, hide storage and divide meeting space inside a larger tent.
Sidewalls
Sidewalls for weather, for closing the booth overnight, and for creating a back wall to mount graphics on. Clear panels where you want product visible from the aisle.
Furniture
Cocktail tables for standing conversations, barstools, seating for longer meetings and tables for demonstration and literature.
Lighting and climate
Lighting — a shaded tent is darker than the aisle around it, and an unlit booth reads as closed. Fans and heaters depending on season; staff work full days in there.
Transport
Dollies and carts for move-in and move-out, which is when most exhibitor injuries and damage happen.
Exhibiting across a season? Tell us your booth sizes and how many shows a year. If you are renting structures at three or more shows, buying almost certainly costs less — and you get consistent branding instead of whatever the show contractor supplies.
Organising an outdoor expo? Ask about volume pricing for matching vendor structures.
866-296-3868. Se habla español.
Common questions
Can we use a tent inside a convention hall?
Often yes, and NFPA 701 documentation will be required. The venue will specify anchoring — ballast or their approved method, never stakes. Confirm with both show management and the venue before ordering.
Buy or rent?
Show contractors rent structures at per-show rates that add up quickly. At roughly three shows a year, buying usually wins — and you control the branding rather than accepting a generic white canopy.
How long does custom printing take?
Longer than the tent. If a show date is fixed, start the artwork conversation early. Call us with your timeline and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
What if our booth is an odd size?
Frame tents of the same series and width can often be joined to make a longer structure. Tell us the assigned dimensions and we will tell you what configuration fits.
How fast is setup?
A 10x10 or 10x20 takes two people a short time. A 20x20 takes a small crew a couple of hours. Move-in windows at shows are tight and enforced — practise once before the first show rather than learning on the clock.
Talk to us
Call 866-296-3868 — Mon–Fri, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM EST
Email sales@beyondtent.com
Shop frame tents →  • Corporate events →