Corporate Event Emcee in Minneapolis: Will Gill
Short answer
If you need a corporate emcee or event MC in Minneapolis, Will Gill is a corporate event emcee and DJ who flies in for conferences, galas and general sessions.
One booking covers three jobs: DJ, emcee and a one-man team-building show. He holds 2,520 five-star Google reviews, was named the number one corporate DJ by The Wall Street Journal, and is a Forbes Next 1000 honoree. Rates are published below.
See what the room looks like when the emcee is doing the job
Five rooms, sound on.
Gameday host for the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium
Jaguars gameday host, roasting the NFL mascots
10,000 Hilton managers under one roof
Sharing a bill with Pitbull, 3,500 people at Mission Ballroom
Hosting SAP’s late-night talk show
What I bring to your Minneapolis room
I have hosted a virtual program for a Minnesota organization, and Minneapolis live programs are conferences, galas and general sessions in rooms I run routinely elsewhere: a 10,000-person Hilton general session, Jaguars gamedays, three Super Bowls, and Fortune 500 general sessions for Google, Amazon, Salesforce, PayPal, Pepsi, AT&T and CDW. I work alongside Minneapolis production companies rather than competing with them, so the in-house or contracted AV team keeps the room and I keep the run of show.
What a corporate emcee does that a “host” from the agenda cannot
Minneapolis programs skew toward Fortune 500 sales kickoffs, leadership summits and awards nights, with a convention calendar that runs straight through the winter. The audience has sat through a thousand introductions. The emcee’s job is to make the schedule hold and the room stay awake, not to be the star.
| Moment in the program | What I am doing |
|---|---|
| Doors and walk-in | DJing the room to the energy the opening needs, then bringing the house to order on time without a producer having to beg. |
| Executive handoffs | Short, accurate introductions, names pronounced right, sponsor reads delivered as written, and the clock protected when a speaker runs long. |
| Awards block | Pacing thirty names so the room still cares about the thirtieth, with walk-up music matched to each winner. |
| The dead spot | When the laptop dies or the caterer is late, the interactive team-building show fills the gap on purpose instead of by accident. |
| Reception | The same person who ran the general session DJs the party, so the energy never resets and there is one contract, one point of contact. |
That is the 3-in-1: DJ, emcee and a one-man team-building show. Planners book one vendor instead of three, and the person on the microphone has already run the room since doors.
Why Minneapolis rooms are busier than they look
The Twin Cities are a deeper corporate-events market than planners outside Minnesota expect, and the downtown skyway hotels book out around convention weeks. The size of the market is not a guess.
- In 2024 Meet Minneapolis and its partners brought 760 events to the city and region and welcomed nearly 720,000 people to the Minneapolis Convention Center, booking 528,000 future group hotel room nights. (Source: Meet Minneapolis 2025 annual meeting release, February 26, 2025)
- Minneapolis remained in the number 8 slot nationally for Fortune 500 headquarters, with its count unchanged at 15. (Source: RealPage Analytics, Fortune 500 Companies 2025)
- Statewide, 81.6 million visitors spent $14.7 billion across Minnesota’s visitor economy in 2024, a total economic impact of $24.7 billion. (Source: Explore Minnesota, 2024 Economic Impact of Visitor Spending in Minnesota)
The practical takeaway: if your date sits in September through December or on a citywide-convention week, lock the host before the venue fills the calendar. Sixty to ninety days is comfortable for everything else.
Corporate rooms in Minneapolis and what they actually hold
Capacities below were checked against each venue’s own published numbers on the date shown, not copied from a directory. Where a hotel’s own site blocked the check, the hotel’s listing text on Meet Minneapolis was used and is linked.
Minneapolis Convention Center
1.6 million square feet of space including a 3,400 fixed-seat auditorium, 475,000 square feet of exhibit space, 87 meeting rooms and an 18,000-square-foot ballroom, connected to the skyway system.
Verified 2026-09-02 at minneapolis.org planner page
Hilton Minneapolis
77,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. The 24,780-square-foot Minneapolis Ballroom is the largest hotel ballroom in the state, with 35 additional meeting rooms for events from 10 to 2,800 people.
Verified 2026-09-02 at hotel listing on minneapolis.org
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Over 130,000 square feet of meeting and event space and 644 guest rooms on Nicollet Mall, the most meeting space in downtown outside the Convention Center.
Verified 2026-09-02 at hotel listing on minneapolis.org
The Depot Minneapolis (Renaissance)
71,124 square feet of event space across 23 event rooms, with the largest space holding 3,250, inside the historic train depot downtown.
Verified 2026-09-02 at thedepotminneapolis.com
Minneapolis Marriott City Center
Over 45,000 square feet of meeting space in 24 event rooms. The Grand Portage Ballroom holds up to 2,400.
Verified 2026-09-02 at marriott.com
U.S. Bank Stadium
Over 320,000 square feet of exhibition and premium club space. The stadium field takes up to 5,000, the Polaris Club 1,000 and the Delta Sky360 Club 600.
Verified 2026-09-02 at stadium listing on minneapolis.org
Map centered on the Minneapolis Convention Center, with the Hilton, Hyatt Regency and Marriott City Center a skyway walk north.
What it costs to book a corporate emcee in Minneapolis
My rates are published, so there is nothing to negotiate around. Half day is $5,000. Full day is $8,000. Rehearsal-only is $1,000. Multi-day programs get $1,000 off each additional day after day one. Virtual hosting is $2,300 for the first hour and $2,000 each additional hour. Travel to Minneapolis is coordinated as part of the booking so nothing lands on the planner’s plate.
A Minneapolis sales kickoff or leadership summit usually needs the full day: general session in the morning, breakouts, an awards dinner and a reception. If the ask is only the evening, say so and the half-day rate applies. Travel is coordinated as part of the booking so nothing lands on the planner’s plate.
Five questions to ask any corporate emcee, including me
- “Walk me through how you handle a run of show that slips 20 minutes.” A working emcee answers instantly and unemotionally. A voice-for-hire talks about their intro.
- “Who is riding the fader on my CEO’s microphone?” If nobody owns the podium feed, your executives will fight the room.
- “Show me footage of you talking to a corporate audience, not a dance floor.” Everyone has party clips. Very few have footage of holding a general session.
- “Can I have the name of the specific person performing, in the contract?” Essential with agencies and multi-host rosters.
- “What is not included in this number?” Staging, uplighting, LED, labor and travel move a quote enormously. Ask before you compare.
Frequently asked questions about booking a corporate emcee in Minneapolis
Do you travel to Minneapolis for corporate events?
Yes, and I have already hosted a virtual program for a Minnesota organization. Travel is coordinated on my side as part of the booking, so flights and hotel never land on the planner’s plate. I arrive the day before any morning general session so weather never touches the run of show, and travel-day buffers are written into the contract.
How much does a corporate emcee cost in Minneapolis?
Will Gill’s published rates are $5,000 for a half day and $8,000 for a full day, with $1,000 off each additional day on multi-day programs and rehearsal-only days at $1,000. Virtual hosting starts at $2,300 for the first hour and $2,000 each additional hour. Every booking is the 3-in-1 show: emcee, DJ and one-man team-building.
Does Will Gill travel to Minneapolis, and what does winter do to the booking?
Yes. MSP is Delta Air Lines’ second largest hub and serves 165 nonstop markets, so a January or February date is routine. Travel is built into the booking and Will arrives the day before a winter show so weather never touches the run of show.
Which Minneapolis venues can Will emcee?
Any room, from a 40-person leadership dinner to a general session. Downtown that includes the Minneapolis Convention Center with its 3,400-seat auditorium, the Hilton Minneapolis with the largest hotel ballroom in the state at 24,780 square feet, the Hyatt Regency with over 130,000 square feet of meeting space, The Depot’s 71,124 square feet of historic event space, the Marriott City Center’s 2,400-capacity Grand Portage Ballroom and U.S. Bank Stadium’s club and field spaces. Each capacity on this page was checked against a published source.
How does the skyway change event logistics in Minneapolis?
The Minneapolis Skyway System is the largest contiguous system of enclosed second-level bridges in the world, over 10 miles of pathways connecting around 80 city blocks, and the Convention Center is connected to it. Attendees can move between a skyway-connected hotel and the venue without stepping outside. One caveat planners miss: most skyway-connected buildings close at 6 pm on weekdays and are closed on weekends, so evening galas should confirm the after-hours route with the venue.
Why is Minneapolis such a strong corporate-event market?
The metro is home to 15 Fortune 500 headquarters, eighth most of any U.S. market, which means a deep bench of sales kickoffs, leadership summits and awards nights every year. In 2024 Meet Minneapolis and its partners brought 760 events to the city and region and welcomed nearly 720,000 people to the Minneapolis Convention Center.
How far in advance should we book an emcee for a Minneapolis event?
Sixty to ninety days is comfortable for most dates. Book earlier for September through December and for citywide convention weeks: Meet Minneapolis booked 528,000 future group room nights in 2024 alone, and those weeks squeeze hotel and vendor availability.
What is the difference between a corporate emcee and a wedding MC in Minneapolis?
A wedding MC runs announcements and a dance floor. A corporate emcee runs a run of show: opening a general session, introducing executives, holding time when a presenter runs long, driving audience energy between segments, and hosting awards without upstaging the winners. Will takes corporate, association and nonprofit programs. For a Minneapolis wedding, a local wedding MC will usually be the better fit and better value.
Can one person emcee, DJ and run team-building for the same Minneapolis event?
Yes, that is the whole model. The same host who opens your morning session at the Convention Center runs the music at the evening reception and the interactive team-building segment in between, so the energy never resets and the planner has one contract and one point of contact instead of three vendors.
Is there a virtual or hybrid option for distributed Minnesota teams?
Yes. Will hosts virtual game shows, virtual DJ sets and interactive team-building on Zoom or Teams starting at $2,300 for the first hour and $2,000 each additional hour, and hybrid programs pair an in-room show with a produced stream for remote offices. He has hosted a virtual program for a Minnesota-based organization.
Three more rooms, for scale
Captioned with where each one actually was. None of these are stock.
Related pages
The full corporate emcee service is described at the corporate event emcee hub. Will is also available as a keynote speaker on morale and audience engagement.
- Best corporate event DJs in Minneapolis, an honest guide
- Corporate event emcee in Washington DC
- Corporate event emcee in Ottawa
Booking a corporate event in Minneapolis?
Send the date, the venue and the format. You will get a straight answer on availability and a written quote, not a sales call.
About the author: Will Gill
Will Gill is a corporate event emcee, DJ and keynote speaker named the number one corporate DJ by The Wall Street Journal and honored in the Forbes Next 1000. He holds 2,520 five-star Google reviews, has performed at three Super Bowls, a World Cup, a Formula 1 race and the MLB All-Star Game, and has worked with Google, Amazon, Salesforce, PayPal, Pepsi, AT&T, Hilton, Home Depot, the United Nations and Cracker Barrel. His company, Faders and Fitness, LLC, is MBE certified.
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