NRG Center

Parking here for space city comic con is was confusing at first. The light rail signs were a little confusing — which is a bad thing. Also can we have a bit more of a selection of food other than chick fil a? That would be great! Thanks.

HOME OF THE TEXANS!
This place is pretty awesome– whether it’s for football season, rodeo, or an expo… I love coming here.
SO big and always cold, be prepared.

Beautiful Center! Our committee boardrooms are perfect! Love volunteering here during Rodeo season!

Our company participates in the Houston Chronicle career fair several times a year here. I have been here about 3 years in a row. It is setup pretty well and they provide a continental type breakfast which consists of fruit, bagels and Starbucks coffee, water and soda.
Lunch is a standard fare of salad, lasagna, green beans, Italian sausage and some other type of pasta dish that I cant name. There is usually sone type of sweet desert with ice tea.
I really have no real complaints about the venue other than it can get really cold there so dress accordingly.

I recently went to the car show on a Friday. Figured it would open at 10:00 am. (didn’t check). Anyway it opened at noon on Friday. So we just waited in line and chatted with the other bored people around us. BTW parking was $ 10 and admission was $ 12 for age 6 and up per person.
By 11:30 the line was so long that one of the employees let the back half of the line form a new line next to us. Not really fair but both lines moved quickly in. Best part was that it wasn’t packed like a Saturday or Sunday.
So we got to check out the vehicles quickly. On Friday they let people test drive the cars behind a long orange barrier area. Not sure if they got to take them outside but I require a freeway to test drive any vehicle that I’m interested in purchasing. By the time we left around 3:20 the parking lots were so packed!!! So glad we came early for once. Plus we got back up to The Woodlands area in 35 unbelievable minutes.
The car show I felt was a little skimpy on the older and high end cars. Plus they didn’t bring the vehicle I was the most interested in. Last year a Budweiser was $ 10 a bottle. Go ahead and yell Rape!!! Overall A-​OK car show.
My true passion is the rodeo! I love everything about it except the outdoor porta-​pots. Maybe I shouldn’t count them because they are outside in NRG’s parking lot.
Unilocal Review #277

Going to the Nutcracker Market was an experience. I was amazed of how much shopping you can get done in one place. I really enjoyed my experience along with the food and nice people.
Florida never had anything like this… prices were overpriced on some items but you had other items that were a great deal as well. A good combination of everything from jewelry, clothing items, bags, food, candy, toys and Christmas decorations.
If you plan on going on the weekend be prepared for the crowd and the parking craziness. I went on a Wednesday night which wasn’t bad at all and valet parked. Even with valet it was a bit crazy… but the big tip for this event would be try an alternate exit route if you valet or park. I escaped alot quicker than the line of traffic to avoid the wait in traffic for valet.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did… did I mention you also have a bar to enjoy a variety of drinks.. Lol
Nothing like drinking and enjoying some shopping.

The place was hot. And full of gnats.

Shot an event here in 2009 and was kinda unimpressed. Parking here was pretty good but this place was big but it wasn’t big enough for WWE Axxess.
I couldn’t find any place selling any food for those wanting to get a bite to eat. The lines here were through the roof. Trying to get from one place to another was a pain. (Thank god for passes though but feel bad for the fans.)
Keep in mind that this in no way is a rib on the staff here or the people in attendance. I’m just saying if you’re here for a «big» event. Expect long lines and chaos.

Bye bye, Reliant. Hello NRG! All name change comments aside, this is a great place to attend trade shows, conferences and other large events. I have been here many times for the World Series of Dog Shows; Gem & Jewelry Show; Nutcracker Market; Houston Livestock Show/​Rodeo, the auto show, and more.
The space is huge, so come prepared to walk. While you may wish to dress up for the Nutcracker Market (many SAHMs get pretty fancy for the occasion) or for other events, be sure to wear some comfy shoes. Just last weekend I found (via my FitBit) that I walked over 5 miles in less than 2 hours while wandering aimlessly around the dog show.
Parking in the adjacent lot is very easy with the help of parking attendants, who will direct you to the available spots. However, on busier days, you may have to park in the lot as far west as Kirby, which means at least a 5+ minute walk from your car to the door. There are usually pedestrian walkways roped off, and the parking attendants help manage the flow of traffic between walkers and drivers. Don’t forget to bring cash to park.
Inside the building is always sparkling clean. I have no idea how they manage to keep every square inch trash-​free, but they do a good job. Bathrooms are nice for public, too. There is a full service Starbucks located outside the hall entrance. The line can become extremely long, especially during Rodeo season, but the employees have their routine down to a science, and you probably won’t stand in line longer than 10 minutes. Inside the hall, you can purchase food, beer, wine and (sometimes) spirits. You will usually find Chick-​Fil-​A, personal pizzas, and a salad bar similar to Salata, among other «ballpark» style fast food restaurants.
In general, the building is kept very cold, but it will certainly heat up when you stuff too many bodies in there. For example, I’m always burning up walking around the Nutcracker Market and during the Livestock Show/​merchandise booths, but I nearly freeze to death during the auto and dog shows. You may wish to layer up in order to be prepared for any condition. A small umbrella would be handy, too, in case you’re forced to walk to/​from your car in a downpour.
While NRG Center earns stars for its large size, I also have to detract for its size. The handicapped parking spots, while very close to the entrance, are still very far away from the main hall entrances and ticketing area. For this reason my grandparents, who are elderly but in good shape, would be unable to attend an event here unless I pushed them in a wheelchair. They do have an elevator which will take you to the second floor offices and meeting spaces, but again, this does not make up for the fact that a long walk is required to get just about anywhere in the building. For those who have limited mobility, you may wish to check the NRG Park website to see what kind of assistance NRG can offer.

Every year I come to this venue, which is now called NRG Center, for (what is now called) the Houston World Series of Dog Shows. (*A side note: this event used to be called the «Astroworld» show, then it went to the «Reliant» show, and I guess the event planners got tired of changing the name, so they just made it «Houston» for good since we’re not changing our city name due to a sponsorship name adjustment.)
This is a large venue, and I go here as a volunteer working with a non-​profit dog rescue group. We pay to rent a booth space and then are given only a certain number of bracelets that allow our members free entrance.
But we all must pay to park, and that parking is $ 10 per vehicle back in the dock/​loading area — which is extremely crowded with trailers and large vehicles and extraordinarily tight spaces. It has become almost a necessity for us to carpool because there is inadequate parking for us, and often we’re bringing in dogs and crates and other paraphernalia related to our booth set up.
This year, the booth aisles were more clearly labeled, so finding our location and other booth locations was a lot easier. The cement floor can be slick at times, especially with dog accidents occurring that require a mop clean up (which were, I have to admit) quickly tended to, so it’s advised to wear appropriate shoes. I only wish that other event areas were as clearly labeled: competition areas, show areas and the art display were located in varying places that one had to meander around to find; unfortunately, this takes time and since I was «working» and didn’t have a whole lot of time to be away from my booth, I couldn’t locate everything I wanted to see because I didn’t know where everything was.
It’s dang cold in here! I know there’s a lot of activity and a lot of people and dogs, but all of us were shivering — including the dogs!
Concessions and other food prices are, as usual, exorbitant. A small personal-​sized pizza was $ 12, for instance. I refused to be extorted in order to eat, so I brought my own lunch, drinks and snacks.
Restrooms were plentiful, easily accessible and relatively clean. NRG staff working at the door were helpful and pleasant when we’d need to take a dog outside for a quick walk or potty break. When we needed to flag down a worker with a bucket and mop, they were easily found.
I love coming to the dog show every year, and granted, this venue has made some improvements with its signage and organization through the years. I do wish, however, that they could give us a break on the parking and not gouge us on the cost of food sold here.

This is a very nice facility. I can see it accommodating all kinds of events just based on the expansive space it occupies. I appears they can break it down & configure it to accommodate lots of different sized events. We went for a home remodelling & renovation trade show. The restrooms were clean and the place was sparkling & seems to be updated. I am not a Rodeo attender, so I haven’t had any prior experience with this place other than a long time ago & I can’t even remember what it was for. The $ 10 parking is standard I guess, but that was the only down side I could see.

I’m sure I’ve been to this place before, but it’s been a loooooong time! Located in Reliant Park between Fannin and Kirby, the Reliant Center is spacious enough to accommodate a tremendous number of guests and patrons. From concerts to expos (the latter was my reason for my attendance this time), this place is just Texas sized BIG! We were too hungry to stay and experience all of the booths that were set up for the event – that’s how big it is.
No one checked our purses upon entering, which these days, I expect because that’s the kind of world we live in. I’m sure such precautions are done at other events like a concert possibly, but this time, no.
My only grip is the cost of parking. $ 10!!! Honestly? Two cars can barely drive through the parking area without fear of swipping a parked vehicle. Parking here at night is probably a nightmare too. Instead of trying to squeeze as many cars as you can onto this concrete slab, the simple solution is to build up. A garage would make this space so much more profitable. Even though it maybe a little bit of an aesthetic eyesore and blocks the view of the Reliant Center, it can’t be that much of an eyesore as the decaying and dilapidated Astrodome,
If you want to save on the parking, street parking is an option or riding the monorail for 1.25 each way are your options. However, I think the street parking is a risk. Best best would be parking behind Sam’s Club off 610 and catching tthe mono. Good times with good friends should make a visit to this place enjoyable.

This is a great Multi-​use center for all types of events. I have been here for many events in the past and I always have a blast. It is huge so make sure you wear your walking shoes. The walk to the Reliant Center is a bit long from the parking lot, but you will forget it once you are there enjoying your time. The food and beverages are expensive just like any other venue. They could have a better food option, because all they sale is junk food.
Every time I go it is always clean, and there is always an employee near cleaning doing their job. The bathrooms are always clean, and they are close by so you won’t have to walk a long way just to get to them.
This place is great and I recommend for anyone to go and check this place out.

Intergem gem and jewelry show! Always fun here. I have been attending various events here for as long as Reliant Center has been around. In all, the facilities are always clean and nice. The climate controls do the job so it is never really too hot or too cold. There is always a good, clean bathroom not too far away from where you are. The Starbucks inside is a good place to take a break. I do wish their food options were a little better inside each hall, but you’re really never there for the food. An overall ding against the Reliant facilities is their 10 buck parking. That’s really ridiculous and I think makes the facilities too expensive for some families.

It’s always easy to park at this venue and because of it’s size, very easy to find your seats, food, drinks, restrooms, or whatever you may need. However, why is it always so freaking HOT? It’s like Satan himself is controlling the temperature and he has it set on HELL… NAW!

I give Reliant Center an extra star because it’s a very large venue that’s more less clean, but I’m not a fan. Here is why:
1. Parking is 10 bucks. No ands, ifs, or buts about it. There is no street parking anywhere and for your $ 10 you have to do a death march to make it to the front door unless you’re early. At George R Brown, you still have street parking if you look hard enough or are willing to walk more.
2. The official food vendors are horrible. I’m not a foodie and am not expecting gourmet chefs, but these guys aren’t even trying. I was here for the dog show last Saturday and thought at the very least I could get some ball park quality foods, but instead got a piece of rubber that passed as «grilled» chicken with some stale bread and soggy tomatoes for 10 bucks. The lady next to me had to get new buns because hers were burnt to a crisp and she got the dirty eye.
3. I come here every year for the dog show to do photography and each year I dread the lighting. Very dim and depressing. On top of that they have mixed lights so any picture you take, unless you completely overpower the lights is going to come out bad. I had to edit 1200 pictures and even though I had the same white balance setting in my camera, every picture came out different. is it asking too much to at least use the same bulbs throughout the building? That’s facility management 101.

I recently worked an HR event at this location (as I have for the past 5 years) and I am always impressed by the staff and the facilities. They are very responsive to customer service and the «back of the house» employees seem very dedicated to their jobs (one employee I spoke to indicated that she worked a 15 hour shift the day before.
If you have the ability to have an event here or have any say-​so in choosing venue locations, this is definitely worth a look.

Lots of good events are held here. Parking isn’t too bad, except for the fact that the spaces are tiny… my Yaris would barely fit!
The concessions line last night for Jeff Dunham was nuts… took us 20 – 30 minutes just to get to the counter. Then we found out their credit card machine had just broken, so one of us had to go to the ATM to get cash. It wasn’t too bad, since we all bought personal pizzas, and we had to wait for those to bake anyway.
Overall, a great facility.

It’s a cool venue.

I have been to the Reliant Center for several different events, most recently the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo. It has 706,000 square feet of exhibit space and it can be divided up in many different ways. The first floor is one very large room that is often subdivided for smaller events.
I’ve been to home shows, several HISD events, conventions, etc… All of them have had ample parking even though the price can be expensive for parking. If you don’t want to pay for parking, the Reliant Center is very close to the Metrorail station for Reliant Park. The space downstairs is very adaptable and flexible to fit whatever is happening downstairs. Upstairs there are many rooms of different sizes that are used for different conventions. I have been happily surprised that rooms aren’t freezing cold, they tend to be air conditioned just right.
Frustrations: There isn’t enough seating in the lobby areas for when you are not in a a meeting. There aren’t any charging stations, which are a necessity these days. There aren’t any restaurants there, so lunch breaks from meetings are tough if they aren’t catered.
Overall, I like this space for all the different events I have attended. It’s so flexible and fits all the needs of the different events.