Big, Bad News: Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Canceled, As of Today

Well, wow. I’ve got to admit that I didn’t see that coming… The City of Houston held a press conference this afternoon to announce that this year’s Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has been canceled, for the first time since 1937.

The official notice is up here, although I’ve also seen a separate notice that specifies that the Rodeo will be closed today, at 4PM. When the news first broke, I assumed, okay, they’ll let the next few days finish up or something, and that’ll be it, but no — in about 10 minutes, everybody currently at the Rodeo will have to leave, if they haven’t left already. So no Kane Brown show tonight, no Cody Johnson tomorrow, no Lizzo on Friday night (and that show was sold out, from all reports I’ve heard).

Damn, y’all. My family has gone every year literally since my daughter was born, and a lot of our fellow Houstonians are regular Rodeo-goers, too. My son’s elementary school has its entire 1st(?) grade class there earlier today…

It might not sound like a big deal to people who don’t live here, but this is massive for us locals. The impact on the Houston economy, already stressed by decreasing oil prices and coronavirus fears, is going to be pretty painful, particularly for the families who rely on this annual event as part of their livelihood.

More info as we get it; for now, if you’ve got a ticket, the RodeoHouston people will be in contact by tomorrow, Thurs., March 12th, to let you know how to get a refund.