Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Seating Chart
A performing-arts center in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, opened in 1985 overlooking Rice Park. The Ordway is home to the Minnesota Opera, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and a touring-Broadway series, with its Music Theater featuring a horseshoe of stacked balconies that wraps the audience close to the stage.
Sections at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Here are the 6 main sections on the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts chart. Ticket price, distance, and sightline all follow from which one you're in, so find yours on this list before you commit — and remember configurations move: a concert, a game, and a private buyout each use the room differently.
- Orchestra — main floor closest to the stage
- Orchestra rear — back rows of the main floor
- First Balcony — lowest balcony level
- Second Balcony — middle balcony level
- Third Balcony — upper balcony level
- Side boxes — premium positions near the stage
Best seats at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Center orchestra rows from about row F to P give the warmest sound and a full view of the stage. The First Balcony center is a top pick, with a clean head-on sightline and a closer feel than its height suggests.
Tips before you go
The center overlooks Rice Park in walkable downtown Saint Paul, with garages a short covered walk from the doors. Confirm whether your ticket lists the Music Theater or the smaller Concert Hall, since the Ordway runs both spaces.
How to read the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts seating chart
The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts chart divides 1,900 seats on stacked levels facing the stage across 6 named sections — Orchestra, Orchestra rear, First Balcony, Second Balcony, Third Balcony, and Side boxes. Which of those names is printed on your ticket decides more than location: two sections apart can mean a different level, a different price bracket, and a different side of the room entirely.
What actually separates one Ordway Center for the Performing Arts seat from another comes down to three things: how far from the stage you are, whether you sit center or off toward a side aisle, and which level you're on. Compare Side boxes and Orchestra on the chart and you'll see the spread — a different level, a different price, sometimes a different side of the Saint Paul room. The best-seats notes above narrow it down for Ordway Center for the Performing Arts; before buying, check the official map against your exact section, row, and seat.
Some context on size — Ordway Center for the Performing Arts's 1,900 capacity places it 7th among the 8 Minnesota venues in this guide; Orpheum Theatre (2,579) is the next size up, The Fillmore Minneapolis (1,850) the next size down.
Building a seating chart for an event at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Hosting a suite night, a group outing, or a private event near Ordway Center for the Performing Arts? Work from the same layout shown on the chart above — sections like Orchestra and Side boxes and the tiers around them — and map your party onto tables that mirror it. Assign each guest a spot and export a PDF the Saint Paul event-services team can set up from. Ordway Center for the Performing Arts runs to 1,900 at full configuration, but a private block is usually a club, a suite, or an adjacent banquet room — a fraction of that, and exactly the scale the maker below handles: rounds for the dinner, rows for the program, and head tables placed where you want them.
Hosting a private event at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts?
Build a seating chart for your Ordway Center for the Performing Arts event — banquet rounds for the dinner, rows for the program, head tables wherever the format calls for them. The maker handles layouts up to 500 seats and exports a print-ready PDF you can hand the Saint Paul venue's event team.
Open the seating chart generatorFrequently asked questions
- How many seats does Ordway Center for the Performing Arts hold?
- Ordway Center for the Performing Arts holds 1,900 at full configuration. The usable count shifts with the event — a concert may open or close sections a daytime event keeps as-is — and a private buyout uses only the sections you book, often a club, a suite, or a section or two out of the 6 on the Saint Paul chart.
- What are the best seats at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts?
- Center orchestra rows from about row F to P give the warmest sound and a full view of the stage. The First Balcony center is a top pick, with a clean head-on sightline and a closer feel than its height suggests.
- What sections does Ordway Center for the Performing Arts have?
- Main sections include: Orchestra — main floor closest to the stage; Orchestra rear — back rows of the main floor; First Balcony — lowest balcony level. Full breakdown in the sections list above.
- Where is Ordway Center for the Performing Arts located?
- Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Confirm the street address, parking, and transit near sections like Orchestra on the official venue site before you go; Saint Paul venues handle gates, lots, and rideshare pickups differently.
- How do I plan a private event at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts?
- Open the maker below and work from Ordway Center for the Performing Arts's actual geography (Orchestra and Side boxes and neighbors). Drop tables where your event sits, assign each guest, and export the PDF the Saint Paul event-services team will set up from.