Google I/O Developer Conference Gets Date, New Venue

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Google announced plans to hold its Google I/O developer conference on May 18-20 in Silicon Valley, at a venue that will be larger -- and more nostalgic -- than its previous location.

In a Tweet sent out Tuesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced Google I/O will be held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., adding that it was the same neighborhood where it all started 10 years ago.

Nostalgia aside, the Mountain View venue may increase the odds that developers may be able to score tickets to the event.

Last year, the sold out Google I/O event was held at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco.  According to Moscone spokeswoman Naina Ayya, Google I/O has in the past has capped its attendance at 5,000 attendees, even though the Moscone West floor space can handle 6,000 attendees on each of its three floors. The total seating capacity at Moscone Center West is 18,225.

The Shoreline Amphitheatre, in contrast, can seat 22,000 -- with additional seating on its spacious lawn. All told, the venue can hold 25,000 people, according to information posted on the City of Mountain View website.

[See Google Goes With OpenJDK For Android.]

This means that nearly 7,000 additional developers may be able to attend the event. Given that last year Google charged a whopping $900 for general admission to the event, it's a proverbial win-win situation.

But accommodating more developers for Google I/O may be a secondary reason why Google changed the venue. The company may be angling to use the Shoreline Amphitheatre's massive parking lot to introduce new versions of its self-driving cars or drones, notes a PCMag.com report.

Google and Pichai did not offer many details about what's on tap for the event, but promised more.

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