City outdraws Houston in number of conventions

San Antonio can attract more conventions than houston, but they are not so large. With thehelp of facilities left over from the 1968 HemisFair World's Fair, San Antonio hosted 689 conventions last year, compared with houston's 465. But it had only a third as many conventioneers (216,229 vs. 666,700).

Houston's bigger convention facilities are the main reason for the larger gatherings. This year, nearly 79,000 attended an offshore-technology convention in Houston.

Building additional convention hall space when the HemisFair grounds are redeveloped has been discussed.