Americas-Houston connects to the south end
of the GRB and has more than 90,000 square
feet of meeting space.
Outside of the GRB, meeting attendees
will find a convention campus packed with
plenty of leisure diversions. More than 300
restaurants and nightlife venues, professional sports teams, performing-arts venues,
and other entertainment options are within
walking distance, along with a downtown
hotel inventory of more than 8,000 rooms —
which means meeting planners don’t have to
worry about the cost and hassle of booking
transportation for their group. When transportation is necessary, public options are
plentiful, from taxis, Uber, and METRORail
to the environmentally friendly Greenlink bus
system. The Houston B-cycle bike-sharing
program and Zipcar Houston also offer easy
options for when attendees need their own
form of transportation.
Houston has no shortage of culinary
gems, and downtown has plenty of them.
Just steps from the GRB, attendees will find
everything from barbecue to Southwestern
to steakhouse to Asian. Houston’s food scene
was recently called “the most dynamic and
diverse … in the nation” by food writer John
T. Edge in Departures magazine, and in 2015,
Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietse-ma put Houston on his short list of America’s
best food cities, commending Houston for
its diversity. In total, Houston has more than
10,000 restaurants representing more than
70 countries and U. S. regions.
Attendees also have a cluster of perform-
ing-arts options to choose from within walk-
ing distance of the GRB. Houston’s 17-block
Theater District is home to the Houston Bal-
let, the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston
Symphony, and Alley Theatre, among others.
The Houston Ballet Center for Dance is the
largest dance company facility of its kind in
the United States, with nine dance studios
and the Dance Lab, which seats 175 for pre-
sentations and rehearsals. The city’s museum
district, easily reached via the METRORail,
comprises more than 20 museums, cultural
centers, and galleries.
For sports fanatics, Houston’s many professional sports teams provide impressive
options for corporate entertaining and group
outings, with three of the city’s most popular
sports venues just a short walk from the GRB.
The Toyota Center hosts the NBA Houston
Rockets, and nearby Minute Maid Park is
home to the MLB Houston Astros. Downtown’s newest stadium, BBVA Compass Stadium, hosts the MLS Houston Dynamo. NRG
Stadium, about seven miles from the GRB, will
host the NCAA Men’s Final Four championship in April, accompanied by the Final Four
Fan Fest and NCAA Experience in downtown.
For more information: Greater Houston
Convention & Visitors Bureau — John
Solis, Vice President of Convention Sales;
(713) 437-5215; jsolis@visithouston.com;
visithouston.com
Bigger and better The George R. Brown Convention Center, currently under renovation, anchors
a bustling entertainment district, offering everything from dining to parks, and big-name concerts
to major sporting events.
CONVENTION CENTER SPECS
Total meeting, exhibit, and
registration space
• 1. 8 million square feet
Meeting space
• 123,000 square feet, divisible into 100
breakout rooms
Exhibit space
• 639,000 square feet of contiguous space on
Level One, and 223,000 square feet of semi-contiguous space on Level Three
Registration space
• 99,000 contiguous square feet
Grand Ballroom
• 31,590 square feet, divisible into three sections
Other spaces
• 3,600-seat General Assembly Theater