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Our local gaming group wants to have a tournament and it's up to me to organize and host it.

Normally our LGS owner is happy to let people run tournaments at the store but we've got a problem this time... It seams several of the aging gaming tables have finally passed beyond repair and needed to be thrown out. It'll be a long time coming before they get fully replaced. So for now, there just isn't the space for the crowd a tournament draws.

This means if I want to run an event I need to find a different location. I'd want it to be able to accommodate about 12 tables, so it doesn't have to be large. When I do a search for local meeting venues all I can find are the giant conference centers that accommodate things like corporate business or RV/boat shows. I'd be happy with a hotel that has a large meeting space, but I am having a lot of trouble finding one.

BTW, I am in the US and we don't have local gaming clubs in my area.

So, anyone have any tips or ideas?

I think that you are jumping a little too far ahead in looking for a venue. I think that you should peruse several options before attempting to find a venue.

1: Are the older gaming tables in any way salvageable. If the frames are still in good shape, replacing the table tops would be much cheaper than the whole tables.

2: At my FLGS, magic players dominate and we correspondingly have a few large gaming tables and a large number of smaller folding tables. On mini's night or during tournaments, we pull out 4x6 sheets of 1/2 inch particle board that have been textured, painted, and flocked and place them on top of the smaller folding tables. This triples our gaming space and stack against the wall for easy storage. These sheets should cost no more than 10$ each and the scraps from every three pieces cut would nominally add up to another piece. This cost should easily be covered by the average entry fee of a tournament of the size you are talking about, even if the store owner doesn't put in a dime.

3: Rent A Center would probably have sufficient tables of the correct size to up your table count

4: This week is move out week for most college apartment complexes. Head on over and see what you can pick up.

If none of these work, I would see out local schools and colleges first. These places have the large open areas with tables that should be in the size range your are looking for.

I'd just help the LGS make new tables.

You can't rent someplace and have a tournament without making the 12 tabletops, so why not save the effort and just replace the old ones?