George R. Brown Convention Center Wired for World Space Congress

HOUSTON, Texas (September 4, 2002) - No international city is more synonymous with space travel than Houston. So when the world's aerospace industry chose to hold its once-in-a-decade meetings in Space City, the natural gathering place is the George R. Brown Convention Center.

World Space Congress 2002 convenes in Houston's premier meeting facility October 10-19 with 13,000 attendees from 100 countries representing every facet of the international space community. The George R. Brown Convention Center stands ready to meet the vast technology requirements of this important conference.

"We are honored to be the host site for World Space Congress 2002," said Dawn Ullrich, director of the George R. Brown Convention Center. "We can accommodate any high-tech show in the country and the World Space Congress will be another proving ground for us."

The George R. Brown Convention Center's telecommunications system includes a digitally controlled telephone system and data options such as high-speed shared ethernet access to T-1 internet service, web-casting from the show floor, dedicated T-span circuits, ISDN circuits, private networks, and analog modem lines. Additional bandwidth is being brought in for the World Space Congress to accommodate dedicated T-1 users, video-streaming applications, and three cyber cafés.

World Space Congress plans call for the use of every square inch of the George R. Brown Convention Center for four days of meetings and six days of exhibitions. The final two days of exhibitions will be open to the public, allowing a glimpse into the latest satellite and rocket-launch technology, Ullrich said.

"Six-day exhibitions like this are rare, but the complexity of the exhibits are such that it would not be feasible for exhibitors to set up for a short run," Ullrich said.

Ullrich said the upcoming space show reminds her of another major convention held at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

"The World Energy Congress in 1998 was like this," she said. "It requires all hands on deck to make these big international shows go off without a hitch.

"These are great opportunities for us to make Houston look good in the eyes of a global audience. Our staff is experienced and geared up to make this a smooth-running event. We're looking forward to it."

In addition to its state-of-the-art infrastructure, the George R. Brown Convention Center is currently in the midst of a $165 million expansion project. When complete in the fall of 2003, the facility will feature more than 1 million square feet of exhibit, meeting and registration space. In addition, a 1,200-room Hilton Hotel is being built in conjunction with convention center expansion.

Contact:

Pete Radowick
713-853-8077
peter.radowick@cityofhouston.net