Houston meetings industry eyeing Super Bowl bounty
Houston’s latest convention hotel project will officially break ground in April, the city has announced.
Work on the 1,000-room Marriott Marquis Houston will start on April 11 on land across from the George R. Brown Convention Center which will be connected to the hotel by a pedestrian skybridge.
It is scheduled to open in 2016 in time for the 2017 Houston Super Bowl.
The return of Super Bowl to Houston provided the stimulus to move ahead quickly with the project, according to Houston First Corp., owners of the convention center.
"One of the key drivers in this entire process is the 2017 Super Bowl and it’s everyone’s intention to have the new Marriott Marquis open for business when the big game rolls into town in three years, " said Houston First CEO Dawn Ullrich.
Developers RIDA Corporation and Houston First Corp hope the $266 million project will help to transform the area with a public plaza, extensive landscaping and a retail space planned.
Houston is not noted as a major convention city but yesterday announced a record-breaking 2013 for air traffic with 50.9 million travelers passing through its two airports.
The numbers showed a significant rise in international arrivals to Houston.
Air China and Turkish Airlines both launched direct flights to the city during 2013 and Korean Air will begin non-stop flights from Seoul in May.
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