Mark C. Smith Concert Hall

The concert hall inside the Von Braun Center

The Mark C. Smith Concert Hall is the 1,955-seat performance hall inside the Von Braun Center (VBC) in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. It is not the VBC's arena: the complex also contains Propst Arena (up to 9,000), Mars Music Hall, the Playhouse and several exhibit halls, so capacity figures for "the Von Braun Center" often describe the whole complex or the arena rather than this room. If your ticket says Concert Hall, you are in the 1,955-seat hall.

The hall opened with the original Von Braun Civic Center in March 1975 and has been home to the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra ever since. The Broadway Theatre League brings its touring Broadway series here, and the calendar fills out with comedians, ballet, tribute shows and smaller concerts.

The seat answer is simple because the room is compact. For Broadway and other staged shows, the center of the main floor from about the middle rows forward gives the best mix of closeness and a full view of the stage. For the symphony, the front of the balcony gives blended sound and a clear look at the whole orchestra, and it is usually the value choice. The extreme sides of the front rows and the main-floor rows under the balcony overhang are the places to think twice about.

Main floor and balcony: how the seats are arranged

The VBC's own floor plan (updated April 2024) shows two levels.

Main floor

The main floor is a wide, curved fan of seating in continental style, which means long rows with no center aisle; you enter from the side aisles through numbered portals (1 through 12) along both walls. Rows are lettered from the stage back, starting at row A, and run more than 20 deep. Wheelchair locations are marked on both sides several rows back from the stage. At the front sits a rising stage, a hydraulic lift that can serve as an orchestra pit or extend the stage. The floor plan marks the balcony overhang over the rear rows of the main floor.

Balcony

Upstairs, the balcony is divided into five sections, numbered 1 through 5 from one side to the other, with section 3 in the center. Each section has its own short rows, and the balcony has accessible spaces near its front. Stairs from the lobby and lounge lead up to it.

Why continental seating matters

Continental rows are comfortable, with more legroom than older halls, but the middle of a long row is a long walk to the aisle. If you expect to leave at intermission, an end-of-row seat saves time, and arriving early avoids standing up for a whole row of latecomers.

Best seats for Broadway, the symphony and concerts

Touring Broadway

The center main floor is the prime area. Rows near the front give detail on faces and costumes but can force you to look up at the stage and miss choreography that uses the full depth of the set. A few rows back, the whole stage picture comes into view. Side seats on the main floor are fine for most shows, though the farthest side seats near the front lose some of the opposite side of the stage.

Huntsville Symphony Orchestra

For orchestral music, sitting too close puts you in front of the first violins and too far to one side unbalances the sections. The center of the main floor several rows back and the front of the balcony, especially section 3, give the most balanced picture. The VBC lists a full orchestra acoustical shell for concerts.

Comedy and concerts

For a comedian, being close to the stage matters more than the exact angle, so any main-floor seat in the front half is a good choice. For amplified concerts, the center main floor or center balcony gives the best sound mix; the extreme front sides can sit right under the speakers.

Seats to think twice about

• Main-floor rows under the balcony overhang: the overhang cuts off the top of the set and can muffle sound.
• Extreme side seats in the first rows: sharp angle and a partial view of the far side of the stage.
• The outer balcony sections (1 and 5): farther from center and at an angle; choose them for budget, not view.

Parking and getting to the Von Braun Center

The VBC sits on Monroe Street in downtown Huntsville, beside Big Spring Park. The concert hall's main entrance is on the Monroe Street side, and the Broadway Theatre League notes that you can also enter through South Hall, the Saturn Ballroom or the Mars Music Hall and Playhouse entrances.

The City of Huntsville has listed these options for VBC events (January 2020):

• VBC/Monroe Street Garage: about 1,000 spaces, directly across from the concert hall, two to three minutes on foot.
• Lot V: about 300 spaces on Clinton Avenue next to the VBC.
• Lot K: about 500 spaces on Clinton Avenue across from North Hall, when open for events.
• Fountain Circle Garage and Gates Avenue Garage: about 500 spaces each, five to ten minutes away.

VBC property parking usually costs more than the city garages a few blocks away. When the arena and the concert hall both have events, the closest garage fills early, so allow extra time. Parking arrangements change, so check the City of Huntsville parking notice and the VBC's event page before you go.

Bags, security and arrival

As of 2026, the VBC applies a different bag rule to the concert hall than to Propst Arena. In the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, Mars Music Hall and the Playhouse, bags may not exceed 14 by 14 by 6 inches; the arena uses a stricter clear-bag rule. Bag policies can vary by event, so check the listing for your show.

• Not allowed: backpacks, briefcases, outside food and drink, bottles and cans, cameras and recording devices, selfie sticks and noisemakers.
• Screening: expect a bag check and possibly metal detectors at the doors.
• Box office: the Broadway Theatre League box office opens one hour before its shows, outside the concert hall lobby doors.
• Doors: visitor guides advise that doors usually open an hour before showtime, sometimes earlier.

The hall's lobby, expanded in the 2010 renovation, has bars and concessions, so plan to arrive early and use intermission wisely. Read the VBC's event security page before you go.

From civic center hall to Mark C. Smith

Huntsville's arts groups pushed for a real performance hall in the 1960s, when the symphony and touring shows played in a high school auditorium. The Von Braun Civic Center, named for rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, opened in March 1975 with an arena, exhibit hall, playhouse and this concert hall. The Huntsville Symphony Orchestra premiered a newly commissioned work, Galileo Galilei, to open the hall, and Broadway Theatre League shows followed soon after. In 1978 the hall served as a television studio for the Miss World-America Pageant.

A 3 million gift from the Linda and Mark C. Smith Family Foundation paid for a modernization completed in 2010, which expanded the lobby with a new staircase, bars, restrooms and VIP suites, added seats, and renamed the room for the late Huntsville businessman Mark C. Smith. A steel rigging upgrade followed in 2021, and a 2025 backstage expansion grew the backstage area from about 4,300 to more than 17,000 square feet, with new dressing rooms, green rooms and loading docks for larger touring productions. The VBC marked its 50th anniversary in 2025.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Von Braun Center
• Von Braun Center – Mark C. Smith Concert Hall spec sheet and floor plan (April 2024)
• Von Braun Center – Improvements
• Von Braun Center – Event security and safety
• Von Braun Center – History (PDF)
• Broadway Theatre League – Venue information
• City of Huntsville – Parking options at VBC (January 2, 2020)
• Visit Huntsville – Know before you go at the VBC (2018)