George R. Brown Convention Center

The George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB) is a convention and exhibition venue on the east side of downtown Houston, Texas, at 1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston, Texas 77010. It is managed by Houston First Corporation, a local government corporation and the official destination marketing organisation for the city of Houston. The venue is used for trade shows, conventions, conferences and corporate events. By the venue’s own figures, the facility totals 1.8 million square feet and has more than 700,000 square feet of exhibit space across 7 exhibit halls. Events held here are also listed with other trade shows in Houston.

Halls and meeting space

The building has three levels. Level 1 holds Exhibit Halls A to E. The venue says these give more than 500,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space across 5 halls, linked by a 95,000 square foot concourse. Level 2, the Mezzanine, has 90,000 square feet of flex space, conference rooms 212 to 215, show offices and six balconies overlooking downtown Houston. Level 3 holds Exhibit Halls A3 and B3, a 31,000 square foot Grand Ballroom with semi-private pre-function space, the General Assembly Theater and up to 88 configurable meeting rooms. Outside, Avenida Plaza and The Wharf add 99,000 square feet of outdoor event and leisure space.

Exhibit hall sizes and capacities

• Halls A to E combined, 50,886 m2 (547,730 sq ft) usable, 11 m (35 ft) ceilings, up to 2,860 booths of 10 ft by 10 ft, 36,000 theatre style or 24,500 at rounds of 10
• Hall A 10,661 m2 and 590 booths, Hall B 9,913 m2 and 570 booths, Hall C 9,699 m2 and 540 booths, Hall D 9,866 m2 and 570 booths, Hall E 10,747 m2 and 590 booths
• Hall A3, 10,648 m2 (114,620 sq ft), 9 m ceiling, 575 booths, 7,500 theatre style or 3,500 at rounds of 10
• Hall B3, 8,437 m2 (90,820 sq ft), 9 m ceiling, 390 booths, 3,270 theatre style or 3,000 at rounds of 10
• Ballroom A to C, 2,935 m2 in three sections of 978 m2, 9 m ceiling at the centre and 8 m at the wall, 3,150 theatre style, 2,152 classroom or 2,100 at rounds of 10
• General Assembly Theater, 3,600 fixed seats, divisible into three theatres of 1,200 seats

Meeting room sizes are published in feet. The largest, room 332, has 7,580 usable square feet across six sections. Sections A, B and C of rooms 350 and 352 are hard wall rooms. For .dwg files or layout diagrams, the venue asks you to contact your Convention Services Manager.

Shows at George R. Brown Convention Center

• Gastech, 14 to 17 September 2027, dmg events
• Breakbulk Americas, 19 to 20 October 2027

The venue keeps an events calendar on its website. If an event you are looking for is not listed, call 713.853.8000. Dates can move between editions, so read our guide to checking official show dates before you book travel.

Getting there and parking

METRO runs a non-stop bus route direct from IAH airport to the GRB. The Avenida North Garage and Transit Center, built during the 2014 works, sits on the north side of the campus. Houston First oversees underground and surface parking for nearly 7,000 vehicles across the properties it runs. Construction work is under way around the convention district, and the venue advises visitors to plan ahead for delays and detours. Parking, loading and unloading on Avenida de las Americas in front of the building are prohibited, and vehicles parked there are towed at the owner’s expense.

Rules and services for exhibitors

• All move-in and move-out must go through the loading docks, freight doors and freight elevators, never the main lobbies, escalators or passenger elevators.
• Levy is the exclusive food and beverage provider. Contact Levy on 713-853-8150 for sampling and catering.
• Smart City is the exclusive IT and utility provider, on 713-853-8900.
• Staging Solutions is the exclusive rigging contractor but not the exclusive audio-visual contractor.
• The GRB is the exclusive in-booth cleaning contractor.
• Fire Prevention Permits are needed for vehicles on display, cooking, tents and multilevel booths. Display vehicles must have battery cables disconnected and no more than a quarter tank of fuel.
• Helium balloons, hay and adhesive-backed decals are not allowed, and all exit doors need 10 ft of clearance.

For freight planning and costs, see our guides to shipping exhibition equipment abroad and planning an overseas exhibition budget.

History

The GRB opened on 26 September 1987. It is named after the engineer and philanthropist George Rufus Brown (1898 to 1983), who donated six of the 11 blocks needed to build it. The first convention held here was the American Society of Travel Agents in October 1987. Ground was broken on 28 July 2001 on an expansion and an adjacent 1,200-room headquarters hotel, now the Hilton Americas-Houston. The expansion cost $165 million, took 27 months and was completed on 3 December 2003. It took the building from 1.15 million to 1.8 million square feet and added three exhibit halls and more meeting rooms ahead of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. Work under the GRB 2025 Master Plan began in June 2014 and finished in December 2016. It added Avenida Plaza, The Wharf, the Level 1 concourse, the Mezzanine flex space and two large artworks, Wings Over Water by Joe O’Connell and Creative Machines and Soaring in the Clouds by Ed Wilson. A further 700,000 square foot building, GRB Houston South, is planned as part of a Houston First master plan for the convention district.

Sustainability

The venue says it has worked to reduce its carbon footprint since 1998. It earned LEED Silver in 2011 and 2017 and LEED Gold on recertification in 2022. Its waste policy aims to divert at least 50% of ongoing consumables from landfill and incineration.

Other US venues in this directory

Other venues in this directory include Dallas Market Center, Orange County Convention Center, Georgia World Congress Center, Las Vegas Convention Center and Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Browse all trade shows in the United States, or read our guide to choosing an international trade show.

Source: grbhouston.com (checked 30 October 2026)