EXPO FAQs
Updated: 1 Jun 2023
Do I have to be a Veteran to Attend?
- No, you do not need to be a Veteran to attend, just a passionate patriot who wants to shop local and from a Veteran owned business. Open to the public.
Do I have to be a Veteran Business to be an Exhibitor?
- Exhibitor can be the following:
- Veteran Owned Businesses*
- Military Spouse Owned Businesses*
- Employers that are Veteran Friendly
- Educational Institions with a Veterans Program
- Veteran Service & Resource Organizations
Can I Volunteer to help out at the EXPO?
- Yes, there is a Volunteer section as you go through the the attendee registration.
Does it Cost to Park at the EXPO?
- Yes, see Parking & Maps page for street level parking & parking garage locations.
How big is the GRB?
- 1.9 million square feet with 88 meeting rooms, 6 balconies, a ballroom, theater, show offices & conference rooms plus 90,000 ft² of Level 2 Mezzanine space, a 95,000 ft² grand concourse, the 97,000 ft² Avenida Plaza, and The Wharf, an intimate outdoor special event space.
How old is the GRB?
- The George R. Brown Convention Center was opened on the east side of downtown Houston on September 26, 1987 and was completed “on time and under budget” with a price tag of $104.9 million. Construction required 30 months with more than 1,200 workers on site. The sale of bonds, to be repaid by hotel occupancy tax revenues, spared local taxpayers any new burden.
The first convention held in the George R. Brown Convention Center was the American Society of Travel Agents beginning on October 11, 1987.
On July 28, 2001, ground was broken on a joint project to seamlessly expand the convention center and build an adjacent 1,200-room convention headquarters hotel. At a cost of $165 million and requiring 27 months of construction, the GRB grew from 1,150,000 square feet to 1,800,000 square feet. Three exhibit halls & more meeting rooms were added in preparation for Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. The Expansion was completed on December 3, 2003.
In November 2014 the ground was broken yet again, this time in preparation for Super Bowl LI. The latest expansion to the GRB includes converting six lanes and the length of five city blocks into ADLA Plaza, a 97,000-square-foot, pedestrian-friendly, outdoor space. The new Grand Lobby will be 10 stories high and showcase Ed Wilson’s 60 foot sculpture, "Soaring in the Clouds", suspended from the ceiling in the very center of the GRB. From there, patrons will have improved connectivity to 550,000 square feet of prime exhibition space via a 95,000 square foot Grand Concourse. Construction is set to be completed in the Fall of 2016.
