Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

for a convention center this one is pretty organized and well laid out. Wide spaces allow plenty of walking room and its not overly crowded. I didn’t feel that vendors had to fight for spaces. The riverwalk is right outside the front door which is amazing. It’s a very well placed center. Yep.

So being that I’m more devil than angel, I was more than a little hesitant to attend the Khaki and Plaid Gala at the convention center. Luckily, my friend easily swayed me when reminding me that being a Catholic charities event… alcohol (open bar) would be provided.
We were shuttled by an old holy cross bus in a parking garage to the convention center. I swear they used the oldest bus they had… possibly to raise awareness to charity needs? Unfortunately from there we had a good half mile walk to one of the newest (furthest) ballrooms at the center. My Betsy Johnson silver stoned 3 inch heels were pouting and not in a good mood. We finally arrived and I was pleasantly surprised at the events efforts in the décor. It was classy and with a flair of fun.
The khaki and plaid gala is in its seventh year and it seems to be getting more successful each year. This year the event sold out several weeks prior. The event is put on by the archdiocese and Hope for the Future. The goal is to raise money to help or provide scholarships for families who want to send their children to a catholic school but are often burdened by the cost.
The event started with happy hour of course .you could get wine, martinis or beer which came with a really cute plaid koozie. They had at least 100 silent auction items including a new toyota. The auction was really cool because all the bidding was done by smart phone (no more paper bidding, wondering if someone’s going to scratch your name out for that Kendra Scott look).The meal was pretty awesome as well with salad a dinner rolls. The entrée included steak, potatoes, vegetable and a crab cake. I chose some sort of Apple cheesecake/​tart? dessert with coffee. It was reeeaaaally good. I assume the catering was provided by the rk group which is usually what the convention center uses.
During the dinner they started the live auction with various destination vacations offered. The last item was for a group of friends to have dinner with archbishop Gustavo. The winner ended up paying a nice sum of 16,500.00. A nice size charitable donation I’d say. The night ended with a band from Austin providing the jams. All in all this event is pretty spectacular and being a Catholic, I am usually a pretty good girl and my «angel» was on her game tonight.
Can’t wait to come to another event held at the newly added space at the convention center.

visited the convention center for the auto show and it had a good set up. great signage and clean bathrooms. parking available at the hotels next door. what else can you ask for?

Nice place and good place to hang. the only real problem that I saw was parking. That is a mess. Once you get one, stay and don’t move. But the events are awesome there.

I haven’t done my homework on this convention center (really, who would, unless you’re hosting the 2,000 people you’re bringing together) but I know for the most part, this one compares quite well to others that I’ve been to.
The usuals:
— Big ass exhibition hall for food. Check.
— Ballrooms all over the place. Often times spread far a part forcing long walks. Check.
— Your average in house caterer that serves mediocre food since they’re cooking for thousands. Check.
Their bathroom game was a little off. A bit off from the Whole Foods-​type bathroom all people that have #2 emergencies would die for.
I chatted it up with one of the production guys and asked him some questions about the 100+ foot projection images located in their mega ballroom. Yeah, at least $ 400k worth of lighting and another two lights that he said were $ 150k each. The quality of the work these guys put together make any big conference worth attending.
Convention centers are big bucks for cities. They bring people into town and greatly benefit the local economy.
I like that this one was located just off of the Riverwalk. Lots of stuff nearby and all within walking distance.

Came here for the San Antonio Womens Expo and it is incredibly packed. There is construction going on at Market Street, so be aware of one lane traffic. This makes a huge difference in timing your arrival.
Parking is limited as well. Most often times when you come here, you will need to park at an alternate parking garage that is unaffiliated with the Convention Center. Nearby, there is $ 10.00 parking, however it was filled when I arrived. I had to pay $ 15.00 for parking down the road.
The event itself is well organized and although the line to enter the Expo is long, it is moving quickly. I’m satisfied with the efficiency of how the line is moving. Good luck to those coming today and tomorrow!

It was truly a pleasure to have been able to have our regional convention here in San Antonio that’s why I am extremely thankful to those who approved for our organization to utilize this center for our historic and annual convention, right here in our very own hometown.

Very functional and it is huge inside. Everything you need for arranging big/​international conference. Wish we have Similar venue in Beijing.

I attended the Innotech Conference and the Northside Chamber of Commerce CIO Panel luncheon last week and I think it was the very first time I went to the NEW, expanded part of the convention center. I have to say it was world class — on par with other large metropolitan cities. I took off one star because the conference room I was trying to find was pretty hard to locate and kind of hidden.
Other than that, the digs were really great! This is the type of thing that will bring more tourism dollars to our city. Nice job!

We’ve had a convention here all week and it’s extremely nice! However, it is pretty cold in there in a majority of the center. Also, very rude and poor service at the coffee shop in the main area that sells starbucks coffee. Not impressed with them but there are other venues for coffee like the actual coffee shop located next to the UPS store in the convention center. It’s very close to the river center mall and a lot of hotels are across the street or around the corner. This center is HUGE and could accommodate thousands of people. Very cool place.

This convention center is massive. It’s located right on the Riverwalk and the closest hotel is the Grand Hyatt. The restrooms are some of the cleanest restrooms I’ve ever seen. Our group also used the convention center’s dining halls for meals as well as evening entertainment and reception. The staff is very professional and the food was pretty good.

A college graduation ceremony brought me to the HB Gonzalez Convention Center recently. The last time I’d attended a graduation ceremony held by this university, commencement was held on campus and tickets were required for attendance. Commencement in the Convention Center, however, provided a larger venue requiring no guest tickets; I suppose this enabled graduates to have unlimited guests.
Centrally located downtown just steps away from the historic Riverwalk, the Convention Center looks mighty impressive when seen from certain perspectives. From street level, though, it’s quite unassuming. Parking, no matter where you choose, isn’t cheap: prices range all the way from $ 11 to $ 27 for the max rate. Your best option is to choose your prime point of exit, which in my opinion is the Rivercenter Mall parking garage.
We dropped off our grad (who needed to check in two hours prior to the beginning of the ceremony) and then we ambled around on the Riverwalk for a bit until we ourselves ventured inside in order to grab good seats for the event (since seating was listed as «open»). A long walk through the lobby and concession area brought us to Exhibit Halls C/​D where the ceremony would take place.
This is a huge hall, and although appropriate for other events, I question its appropriateness for a graduation. The stage was set on the mid-​section of one side with a section for the graduates immediately in front of the stage. Same-​level seating was distributed on both sides of the graduate section in convention-​style chairs. Immense double-​column pillars were distributed throughout the hall and were an obvious obstruction of vision if one sat in most sections. Also, since we were all at the same level (non-​tiered), it was also very difficult to see above and toward the stage if you were not anywhere within the first 25 or so yards of the stage.
Kudos to the Convention Center for knowing that people would have trouble seeing, though, as there were multiple large projection screens distributed throughout the hall that broadcast the ceremony up close. Sound system was good, but at times the videographer could have done a better job focusing on the stage and the graduates.
Open seating at events such as these has always ruffled my feathers, though. As far as I’m concerned, if you want a good seat, get there early. If not, don’t send a lone scout to «reserve» entire rows of good seats and then show up 5 minutes before show time. Behavior such as this needed to be squelched by the Convention Center (or University) staff; alas, though, it was tolerated and many people who did indeed show up early ended up sitting far away because someone had «saved» seats.
Bathroom availability was limited and spaced pretty far apart. The only facilities I located were single-​occupant restrooms found directly off the Exhibit Hall floor. I was unable to find a water fountain anywhere.
After the ceremony, all guests were channeled back out to the Main Entrance off of Market Street. The entire Exhibit Hall was leaving through one exit! All I could think of when we were shuffling shoulder-​to-​shoulder, hands locked with each other so that we wouldn’t get separated was, «This is insane!» It reminded me of a mosh-​pit type crowd at a concert; as the crowd moved, so did you. Once you approached the Market Street doors, however, you were set free! Finally!
Perhaps the HB Gonzalez Convention Center is fitting for other gatherings or events, but I was disappointed with its ability to present and host a formal, organized and dignified event honoring the achievement of the graduates and their families.

Here for the ADA annual conference. Everything is standard at this convention center. Nice and clean. Shouldn’t complain right? Unfortunately it’s impossible to figure out where you are or where your going. Not a fan of this one small huge problem.

Beautiful convention center! Attended a Booster Club conference this day and it is huge! Of course my room was the very last room in the very back… so long walk… hehe. Great space!

The only bad thing is parking. Cost 15.00 dollars which is what keeps me from down town adventures

Maybe I was spoiled by the San Antonio Hyatt’s convention space (right next door) that my company used last year, but the HB Gonzalez convention was very unimpressive.
The bathrooms were old and dated, only three stalls where we were at (not enough). The entire interior needed to be repainted, very dirty on the lower half, everywhere. Very hard to navigate around the halls, confusing layout.

Uh, it’s a modern convention center. Just like about every other one that attracts major convention business in the US today. Perhaps a tad better than average due to the convenient location adjacent to so many hotels and right on the Riverwalk.

I’m an events manager for a living — the convention center is fantastic! Seriously one of the best venues I have ever been too. It’s clean and massive and easy to get around. There is a full service UPS store on site and the staff are all friendly.. and it’s air conditioned! Oh yes — great job San Antonio!

How many other convention centers have a river winding through them? I won’t take the time to try and find out, we’ll just go with «none.»
Having spent a long day here at the SA Auto Show recently, and plenty of other times (dating alllllll the way back to high school volleyball tournaments), I feel it is my civic duty to give mad props to their staff. Haven’t we all encountered disgruntled, grumpy, and generally unpleasant staff at places like this? Crotchity museum security guards come to mind, but that’s not the case at Henry B. Most recently, I was a vendor using the back load-​in entrance and had the most pleasant exchange with Steve in the back. After that, everyone was still so nice I had to pinch myself.
Parking is simple and convenient, the building is new and pretty damn fancy (hello chandeliers!), restrooms are clean with working towel dispensers and nary a line, and… did I mention the river?
So, the reason you’re visiting the convention center could hold some stake in how you feel about it, but overall I think they’re handling their business.

This convention center in SA is pretty awesome.
It’s a huge facility, located in downtown SA and on the riverwalk. The conference rooms themselves vary in size from huge ballrooms to smaller meeting rooms. This multi-​floor complex also boasts beautiful terraces on the upper level, where you can step out, have a seat and take a break under the gorgeous SA sun. Wifi is spotty, some places are prime and others not so much, but it’s free and available in lounge areas. Also tonnes of places to plug in for a charge up. Oh, this reminds me, I had actually forgotten my charger and was able to buy a generic one at the convention center in the small shipping/​office supply store. Super handy.
There are loads of hotels around the convention center as well as lots of choices for eats within walking distance. The conference center has a few options for coffee, breakfast and light lunches, but if you are looking for something other than a muffin or a sandwich, I’d say venture out along the river walk.
This convention center seems to be booked frequently, cab drivers are used to the influx of people coming and going and I’d say the locals are too. Friendly staff at the center and great location.