Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/3108
is excited about the launch of DC sales office in March. With a revitalized downtown and expanded facilities, Houston is listed as one of the top 25 cities for convention, conference and seminar travelers, according to the United States Travel Association (USTA). Houston offers superior meeting locations, from downtown's Houston George R. Brown Convention Center, to the adjacent Hilton Americas- Houston, to the Reliant Park complex. The convenient METRORail connects downtown with the Museum District, the Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park. There are more than 60,000 hotel rooms in Greater Houston. Discovery Green Park opened in spring 2008. The 12-acre park is located in the "super block" in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center and offers WiFi, restaurants, an amphitheatre, picnic area, dog runs, a pond, jogging trails, playground and vibrant green spaces for personal recreation and special events Houston's 17-block Theater District is home to the Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony and Alley Theatre, among other world-class performing arts groups. In the Museum District, visi- tors can explore art, history, and sci- ence at 18 world-class institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Menil Collection and Houston Museum of Natural Science. More information is available at (800) 4-HOUSTON or www.visithous- tontexas.com. IRVING The City of Irving recently broke ground on a new convention center in the city's Las Colinas area. The Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas will be a high-end meeting and event facili- ty with nearly 100,000 sq. ft. of exhibit, conference and event space. The center is scheduled to open in late 2010. Proposed components for phase two of the project include a 300,000-sq. ft. entertainment venue, 215,000 sq. ft. of restaurants, retail and cinema, and a full-service hotel. With a central location in between Dallas and Fort Worth, Irving is less than a three and a half-hour flight from any airport in the continental United States. Just minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Love Field, it's intersected by five major interstates. Service aboard the Trinity Railway Express makes getting around the area simple with two rail stops in Irving connecting into downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth. Irving's 75-plus hotels and 11,000 rooms range from AAA five-diamond resort to all-suite extended stay to econ- omy, offering a diverse selection of housing options to fit the needs of many meetings and conferences. Thousands of meetings, numbering up to 1,200 dele- gates, are held each year in Irving. The city's 12 full-service hotels provide more than 200,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, with an additional 100,000 sq. ft. of off-site meeting areas. Modern and well-equipped, Irving's meeting facili- ties vary from private suites and state- of-the-art amphitheaters to magnificent ballrooms and formal boardrooms. Starwood Hotels & Resorts World- wide, Inc. is bringing its two, highly anticipated new lifestyle concept hotels to Irving. Aloft Las Colinas, a select- service version of W Hotels that opened last year, is a 136-room property with urban-influenced design, accessible technology, style and a social atmos- phere. Element Irving, scheduled to open in July 2009, was inspired by Westin Hotels & Resorts, and will offer 123 guestrooms designed for extended stay, each featuring a full kitchen. The 397-room Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas is in the midst of a $150-million expansion which will bring 30 additional villa suites, a second resort-style pool, renovated lobby and guest rooms, and a complete overhaul of the Tournament Players Course Las Colinas, home of the PGA Tour's HP Black Meetings & Tourism April/May 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com Need caption Photo Credit: Houston CVB 44 Photo Credit: Irving CVB Four Seasons Resort and Club Houston Downtown Skyline Photo Credit: Houston CVB