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<br />AREA OVERVIEW
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<br />11-11
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<br />It should also be noted that convention activity previously booked for fiscal year
<br />2005/2006 was canceled due to emergency use of the George R. Brown Convention
<br />Center for one month by evacuees displaced by Hurricane Katrina. During the month of
<br />September, 23 events were cancelled. Of those, four were rebooked and 19 events did
<br />not rebook. In all, the convention center's business lost due to Katrina equates to
<br />78,711 in attendance and 21,915 room nights.
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<br />Without the Super Bowl and All-Star Baseball room nights (85,717), 2004 room nights
<br />would be 144,137 which would have represented an 18.3% increase for the year. These
<br />two events also brought significant positive national attention to Houston from the media
<br />and fueled convention bookings for that year and for future years.
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<br />In 2005, room nights would have increased 53.6%, if compared to 2004 numbers net of
<br />the Super Bowl and All-Star Baseball effect. Furthermore, if business hadn't been lost
<br />due to Katrina (21,915), then 2006 room nights would have been 245,934 and that
<br />would have been an 11.1 % increase over the prior year. The numbers net of the Super
<br />Bowl, All Star Baseball event and Katrina, suggest continuing growth in room nights
<br />booked since the expansion of the convention center.
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<br />Bookings for 2007 and beyond illustrate Houston's increased capacity for more groups
<br />and for larger groups. The numbers also reflect that the largest events typically book
<br />farther in advance.
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<br /> Definite Bookings cullliilYt lIHIln.:!2::', Current Potential Bookings
<br /> Number Room Number :ji r_ I; I:; Room Number Room
<br /> of Room Nights of , Roo it Nights of Room Nights
<br />Year Events Nights per Event EV~~~,!I!ia!Jil '-" Event Events Nights per Event
<br />2007 68 266,126 3,914 19 34,971 1,841 87 301,097 3,461
<br />2008 36 204,002 5,667 48 178,673 3,722 84 382,675 4,556
<br />2009 17 117,905 6,936 53 364,203 6,872 70 482,108 6,887
<br />2010 10 123,619 12,362 58 356,086 6,139 68 479,705 7,054
<br />2011 9 110,295 12,255 44 281,137 6,389 53 391,432 7,386
<br />2012 8 80,463 10,058 27 188,140 6,968 35 268,603 7,674
<br />Total 148 902,410 6,097 249 1,403,210 5,635 397 2,305,620 5,808
<br /> Source: George R. Brown Convention Center
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<br />FtC
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<br />f B k'
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<br />b 2006
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<br />The Houston CVB predicts that it will increase the number of city-wide conventions by
<br />two per year and could accommodate as many as 20 city-wide conventions per year.
<br />With the current maximum room block of 3,500 rooms in the downtown area,
<br />conventions will begin to overflow to other areas of Houston in 2007.
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<br />TOURISM
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<br />The area's leisure and tourism base is vast and very diverse. Houston has been
<br />undergoing a revitalization that began in the late 1990s. Several projects that have
<br />been completed include Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros), Reliant Stadium (Houston
<br />Texans), Toyota Center (Houston Rockets) and the Hobby Center for the Performing
<br />Arts.
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