Here's a look at new event and meeting spaces in Houston.
The Houston Dynamo soccer team’s new 22,000-seat home, BBVA Compass Stadium, opened in May. Set in downtown’s East End neighborhood, the stadium is available for concerts, festivals, and other events. It includes a 5,000-square-foot stage, 25- by 40-foot LED video board, and 35 suites.
Photo: Wilf Thorne
Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, a new amusement park built on the site of the original 1943 Pleasure Pier, opened in May. The $60 million complex stretches 1,130 feet out into the Gulf of Mexico and includes a roller coaster, 15 other rides, and a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant. The pier has several spaces available for corporate picnics and meetings, as well as after-hours events.
Photo: Landry's Inc.
British-style gastropub West End opened near the Galleria in July, offering 50 tap beers, cocktails,and snacks in a former car wash space. The 8,300-square-foot venue includes a 5,000-square-foot patio, which can hold as many as 400 for events.
Photo: Courtesy of The West End
In late 2012, the Fourth Ward space formerly home to Zimm’s Little Deck was to reopen as Brooklyn Athletic Club, a bar, restaurant, and casual sports center. The patio will offer bocce, badminton, horseshoes, croquet, and movies. It will be available for private events and teambuilding retreats.
Photo: Jeffrey Linthicum
Philippe Restaurant added Phil’s Wine Lounge, a vino-centric venue, in August. Serving 80 wines by the glass in a warm room with a custom-built, wall-length wine display, red light fixtures, and columns bedecked in vintage wine labels, the lounge can accommodate groups of as many as 100. Pizzas and charcuterie are available.
Photo: Courtesy of Phil’s Wine Lounge
The Houston Museum of Natural Science’s 115,000-square-foot Hall of Paleontology expansion opened in June. The two-story hall showcases 30 dinosaur skeletons—including a 42-foot-long T. rex—along with interactive exhibits. The hall can seat 360 for a dinner and holds 650 for a reception.
Photo: Courtesy of The Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Hall of Paleontology
Designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi, who handled the 2004 MoMA expansion, the Asia Society Texas Center’s $48.4 million new facility opened in April. Available event spaces include the 273-seat Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater, the 3,000-square-foot Festival Lawn, and a 1,628-square-foot terrace overlooking the lush Elkins Foundation Water Garden.
Photo: Hester + Hardaway
The latest tenant in the Citycentre building—which already includes Hotel Sorella and its dedicated meeting and events center—is a branch of Texas A&M’s Mays School of Business, which opened in September. The facility has 24,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including four classrooms and an auditorium.
Photo: Shannon O’Hara
