The George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston hosts conventions, trade shows, conferences and large meetings, with exhibit halls that seat up to 36,000 in theater style and a 31,590-square-foot ballroom. It stands at 1001 Avenida de las Americas in downtown Houston and is booked through a sales team and an RFP form on the official site.
Seminars and company events
The center is built for events of several hundred to tens of thousands of attendees. Planners can hold a general session in the ballroom or in the General Assembly theater, then split into the 19 meeting rooms on Level 3 for breakouts. Most meeting rooms divide into sections, so one floor can run parallel tracks of different sizes. Organisers submit an RFP or call the sales team to check space and date availability. Once booked, a Convention Services Manager handles set-up questions.
Rooms and capacities
Level 1 holds Exhibit Halls A to E. Combined, they offer 547,730 usable square feet with a 35-foot ceiling and seat 36,000 in theater style or 24,500 at rounds of ten. Each hall alone seats 7,000 to 7,500 in theater style. Level 3 adds Halls A3 and B3, which seat 7,500 and 3,270 in theater style, and the Ballroom, divided into sections A, B and C of 10,530 square feet each. The full ballroom takes 3,150 in theater style, 2,152 classroom style and 2,100 at rounds of ten. The General Assembly theater has 3,600 fixed seats, 1,200 in each of its three sections.
Among the meeting rooms, Rooms 310 and 320 each seat 644 in theater style. Rooms 332 and 342 each seat 700. Room 322 seats 250 in theater style and 200 at rounds of ten. Six balconies on Level 2, named Rusk, Walker, McKinney, Avenida, Lamar and Polk, add 935 to 3,000 square feet each for receptions and side events.
Catering
Levy is the exclusive food and beverage provider at the center. The catering sales manager is part of the planning team, and preliminary food and beverage needs are discussed about six months before the event.
Services and rules
Smart City is the exclusive provider of IT and utility services, and Staging Solutions is the exclusive rigging contractor. Audio visual is not exclusive. The center is the exclusive in-booth cleaning contractor. The planner checklist runs from 12 months out to one month out. Final payment is due 60 days before the first move-in day, and a certificate of insurance is required.
Getting there
The center is in downtown Houston, at 1001 Avenida de las Americas. A METRO non-stop bus route links Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) directly to the center. A 360 virtual tour of the spaces is available on the official site.
