Houston First | George R. Brown Convention Center & Discovery Green

Houston First’s vision and efforts enrich the lives of Houstonians in a number of ways, beginning with promoting the region as a destination for tourism and convention business. The organization also works to attract film production to the area and operates theaters where world-class performances take center stage, all while managing outdoor spaces where festivals and other activities thrive.

Houston First’s establishment was the result of more than 10 years of study. In forming the organization, the City consolidated its Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department, and the Houston Convention Center Hotel Corporation (created by the City in 2000).

A 2014 alignment with what was then the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GHCVB) streamlined the two organizations and improved accountability, while providing Houston First with the flexibility to adjust sales and marketing expenditures based on market conditions.

Today, Houston First serves as the official destination management organization for Houston. Houston First operations include day-to-day maintenance, management and licensing of its properties as the sites of conventions and trade shows (40 major events and 200 smaller events, per year), concerts and theatrical performances (more than 600, per year), and civic events. The organization also acts as the City of Houston’s agent for collection of hotel occupancy tax revenue.

A 15-member Board of Directors sets policy for the corporation and approves its major initiatives and expenditures. The City of Houston maintains an oversight role through the City Council’s approval of board appointments and its annual budget. Two City Council members also sit on the Board of Directors, in ex-officio roles.

Need for Gunshot Detection

In 2018, the City of Houston, and Houston First Corporation partnered with EAGL Technology to deploy a series of Gunshot Detection Capabilities at the George R. Brown Convention Center, both indoor and outdoor.

This need was spurred by the recent shooting at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas in October of the previous year. A shooter had opened fire from the 32nd floor of the hotel and fired into the crowd during the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, killing 63 people and injured 413. Their desire was to proactively protect those that work and visit the George R. Brown Convention Center and nearby Discovery Green.

Criteria for Choosing EAGL Technology

Houston First chose EAGL for several reasons:

• EAGL’s ability for secondary validation; using energy to confirm a weapon was used instead of relying on audio.
• The support of visual validation using cameras
• The capability to support detection both in an Indoor and outdoor environment.
• The devices were aesthetically pleasing, the George R. Brown Convention Center is an Iconic venue, and several national high-profile events are hosted at that location every year. There was a need for devices that basically hide in plain sight.
• The solution was easily deployed even by general city personnel.
• The EAGL sensors are self-contained, with no need for wires for power or communication and can be easily moved as needed.

Deployment

Houston First was one of the first outdoor deployments done by EAGL Technology. As expected with the then unproven outdoor sensor technology, some anomalies were discovered. EAGL then leveraged the conditions around the convention center in real time to eliminate the issues very quickly and provided ongoing monitoring for additional anomalies of which there have been none. EAGL continues to refine the solution as needed to accommodate the ever-changing environment of George R. Brown and Discovery Green in Houston Texas.