Reliant Center
Encyclopedia
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, USA, part of the Reliant Park
Reliant Park
Reliant Park is a complex in Houston, Texas, USA, named after the energy company Reliant Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the 610 Loop...
complex that was constructed around the Astrodome and Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....
. Reliant Center hosts various events year-round, including portions of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston, is the world's largest live entertainment and livestock exhibition. It also includes the richest regular-season rodeo event. It has been held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003...
, who maintains its offices on the second floor of the building. The grand opening of the facility was on April 12, 2002 with the Houston Auto Show. Hermes Reed Architects was the architect for the facility.
The facility
The convention floor runs over 0.25 miles (402.3 m) in length, while total building size is 1532 feet (467 m) long and 590 feet (179.8 m) wide, with a total area of 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²). The facility features over 706000 square feet (65,589.5 m²) of contiguous single-level exhibition space, which is divisible into 11 separate halls, ranging in size from 40000 to 168000 sq ft (3,716.1 to 15,607.7 m2).The 61 meeting rooms are configurable into over 100 variations, and the two largest meeting rooms are 17000 and 22000 sq ft (1,579.4 and 2,043.9 m2). Each meeting room has its own dedicated sound, lighting and networking capabilities.
Also there are 118 loading bays, a 280000 square feet (26,012.9 m²) marshalling area with over 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) for shuttle transportation, and over 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²) of registration space. The facility the technological infrastructure capable of providing high-speed internet access, pre-wired fiber optic cabling backbone, on-site production facilities, 120 television monitors, as well as web-casting abilities.
Uses
Along with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Reliant Center hosts some of the largest conventions and trade shows in Houston. Some examples of these events are the Offshore Technology Conference, The Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows, Nutcracker Market, Houston Auto Show, International Gem & Jewelry Show, The Vans Warped Tour, Houston Gun Collector's and Antique Show, and the Houston Boat, Sport and Travel Show, - to name a few.In 2005 the center hosted several thousand refugees from Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
when the Astrodome was declared full.
Reliant Center hosted World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's WrestleMania Axxess event from April 2, 2009, to April 5, 2009, where fans met their favorite wrestlers in the build up to WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV was the twenty-fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas...
at Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....
on April 5th.