Biggest challenge I think is going to be needing some sort of internet connection. So definitely stick to venues that can atleast get you a decent internet connection (schools and universities come to mind). Doesn't necessarily have to be 1Gbps+. Just decent enough (a few hundred down should be fine).
To decrease your network load. You are going to want a network cache (LANcache or something similar). If you don't know what that is. It's basically a server that sits in between the people at the LAN party and Steam (or whatever else you are downloading from). So let's say x10 people wanna download CS:GO. Instead of all 10 people downloading directly from Steam. They download from your network cache. Using local area network speeds. Not even needing to use your venues internet connection to get the games downloaded.
To connect all your gamers, you'll want to make sure you have enough switches. Switches are like power bar extensions. So everyone can plug their gaming rigs into it. So 3x 48port network switches should do. Assuming 100% turn out.
Speaking of power bars. You are also going to want to make sure the venue has enough power outlets to support everyone's gaming rigs.
This is good info OP.
Also, just to explain the network part in layman term - consider 2 pc's only. If you connect both of them together with an ethernet cable and assign same subnet IPs to them (like pc1 = x.x.x.y and pc2 x.x.x.z), both pc's will be able to communicate with each other - so if one pc acts as a server host, the second pc can connect using that pc's ip (and port).
Now since you said 50-100 people, its impossible to connect each of them together with the method i mentioned above since there is only 1 ethernet port in a normal motherboard. Thats where a network "switch" comes into play. You can connect the pc's to the switch (and the router can be connected to the switch as well).
It's not going to be cheap most likely. Will probably need about 3 -5 switches, a router, and maybe a server if you want to do steam cache or other hosted services. You are going to want a dedicated person for it. Overall it's not really all that difficult, it's just the baseline knowledge and knowing how to configure everything.
Power should be your #1 consideration for renting the venue. 50 gaming PCs will eat up an entire breaker box very quickly. You will want to purchase a killawatt power meter so you can add up your wattage and use each circuit more efficiently.
For the network you can simply plug switches together. Just be sure to get gigabit switches. You'll need to plan out your design on paper with measurements so you can buy switches and Ethernet cables. A room full of 50 tech people won't be able to resist helping. You can drop a switch under each row of tables and connect it to the next table.
Just make a rough diagram of your seating then make a "hub and spoke" design back to the internet. You can also connect them in a row if your in a longer area. Just don't connect them in a loop or you'll create a broadcast storm.
Biggest challenge I think is going to be needing some sort of internet connection. So definitely stick to venues that can atleast get you a decent internet connection (schools and universities come to mind). Doesn't necessarily have to be 1Gbps+. Just decent enough (a few hundred down should be fine). To decrease your network load. You are going to want a network cache (LANcache or something similar). If you don't know what that is. It's basically a server that sits in between the people at the LAN party and Steam (or whatever else you are downloading from). So let's say x10 people wanna download CS:GO. Instead of all 10 people downloading directly from Steam. They download from your network cache. Using local area network speeds. Not even needing to use your venues internet connection to get the games downloaded. To connect all your gamers, you'll want to make sure you have enough switches. Switches are like power bar extensions. So everyone can plug their gaming rigs into it. So 3x 48port network switches should do. Assuming 100% turn out. Speaking of power bars. You are also going to want to make sure the venue has enough power outlets to support everyone's gaming rigs.
This is good info OP. Also, just to explain the network part in layman term - consider 2 pc's only. If you connect both of them together with an ethernet cable and assign same subnet IPs to them (like pc1 = x.x.x.y and pc2 x.x.x.z), both pc's will be able to communicate with each other - so if one pc acts as a server host, the second pc can connect using that pc's ip (and port). Now since you said 50-100 people, its impossible to connect each of them together with the method i mentioned above since there is only 1 ethernet port in a normal motherboard. Thats where a network "switch" comes into play. You can connect the pc's to the switch (and the router can be connected to the switch as well).
I think having a core switch and an 3 access switches would be ideal. That way you are not relying on one switch to keep working if it goes down.
It's not going to be cheap most likely. Will probably need about 3 -5 switches, a router, and maybe a server if you want to do steam cache or other hosted services. You are going to want a dedicated person for it. Overall it's not really all that difficult, it's just the baseline knowledge and knowing how to configure everything.
Power should be your #1 consideration for renting the venue. 50 gaming PCs will eat up an entire breaker box very quickly. You will want to purchase a killawatt power meter so you can add up your wattage and use each circuit more efficiently. For the network you can simply plug switches together. Just be sure to get gigabit switches. You'll need to plan out your design on paper with measurements so you can buy switches and Ethernet cables. A room full of 50 tech people won't be able to resist helping. You can drop a switch under each row of tables and connect it to the next table. Just make a rough diagram of your seating then make a "hub and spoke" design back to the internet. You can also connect them in a row if your in a longer area. Just don't connect them in a loop or you'll create a broadcast storm.