Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo Called Off By City Officials

– Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo / RodeoHouston

Houston officials have mandated the closure of Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo on March 11, in the midst of the 20-day event, as a part of efforts to control the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. A refund process has not yet been finalized, but organizers are promising to notify ticket holders once there is a plan in place.

“In the interest of public health, the City of Houston and the Houston Health Department have ordered the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ to close. The Rodeo will respectfully and dutifully comply with the City’s order,” Rodeo organizers wrote on the website. “The Rodeo is deeply saddened; however, the safety and well-being of our guests and our community is our top priority. Out of precaution, the City has decided that this is the best course of action for our community.”

RodeoHouston was having a decent year in terms of total attendance (including the Bar-b-que contest), with high points coming March 7 with Maren Morris (102,009 tickets reported) and March 8 Ramon Ayala (109,857 tickets reported).

Kane Brown was scheduled to perform tonight, and other artists that will no longer be taking the stage at NRG Stadium @ NRG Park include Cody Johnson, Lizzo, Jon Pardi, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Gwen Stefani, Chris Stapleton, Brad Paisley, and Luke Bryan.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has said by the end of the day he will be signing an emergency health declaration for the City of Houston, which will remain in place for seven days. In addition to the end of RodeoHouston, all city-sponsored events for the month of March will be canceled.

According to ABC13 Houston, there were 14 known cases of COVID-19 coronavirus as of March 10.

For a list of the latest Pollstar stories on the Coronavirus’ impact on the live industry, click here.