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2.6M visitors in 2017 breaks RodeoHouston attendance record

HOUSTON – The 2017 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was a record breaker!

HOUSTON – The 2017 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was a record breaker!

Here is a breakdown of the numbers.

The first number is the biggest – 2.6 million. That's how many visitors turned out over the 20 days of the rodeo – the most in the event's 80-year history.

“It does set the bar very high for next year, but we're already planning next year,” Joel Crowley, HLSR president & CEO, said.

ATTENDANCE

Total attendance (includes World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest)

  • 2017: 2,587,853 (through 5 p.m. Sunday, March 26) Final attendance numbers will be available Monday.

Paid RODEOHOUSTON® attendance

  • 2017: 1,295,835 (through Saturday, March 25)

Two of the Rodeo performances landed in the list of the Show's top 20 paid rodeo/concert attendance records.

  • 1st: March 19, 2017 – Go Tejano Day – Banda El Recodo and Siggno – 75,557
  • 17th: March 16, 2017 – Luke Bryan – 75,033

NRG Park single-day attendance record broken on Saturday, March 18, with more than 185,000 visitors on the grounds.

2017: 185,667 on second Saturday of Show (current record)

2015: 181,822 on second Saturday of Show (previous record)

RODEOHOUSTON®

RODEOHOUSTON committed $2.17 million to its contestants in 2017.

The 2017 RODEOHOUSTON Super Series invited the world's top rodeo athletes to compete in seven traditional rodeo events, March 7 – 25.

Total purse: $1,748,000

2017 RODEOHOUSTON Super Series Champions, with total money earned, are:

  • Tie-Down Roping: Caleb Smidt: Belleville, Texas – $58,500
  • Bareback Riding: Jake Vold: Airdrie, Alberta, Canada – $56,000
  • Team Roping: Zac Small: Welch, Oklahoma; and Levi Lord: Sturgis, South Dakota – $110,000
  • Saddle Bronc Riding: Cody Demoss: Heflin, Louisiana – $56,438

2003 RODEOHOUSTON Champion

  • Steer Wrestling: Tyler Waguespack: Gonzales, Louisiana – $56,500
  • Barrel Racing: Kassie Mowry: Dublin, Texas – $60,000
  • Bull Riding: Garrett Smith: Rexburg, Idaho – $53,375

The RODEOHOUSTON Super Shootout®: North America's Champions, presented by Crown Royal, is set for Sunday, March 26, 2017.

Champion athletes from eight of the best rodeos in the U.S. and Canada will compete as individuals, and as part of a team, in bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding, saddle bronc riding and steer wrestling.

The Super Shootout is among the richest one-day rodeo events in the world with a total purse of $250,000. Each event champion will walk away with $25,000.

The 2017 competing teams are

  • Calgary Stampede;
  • Cheyenne Frontier Days;
  • Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo;
  • National Western Stock Show;
  • Reno Rodeo;
  • Rodeo Austin;
  • RODEOHOUSTON
  • San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.

HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW™

Total entries

Livestock and horse show competitions drew 32,793 entries in 2017.

Livestock show: 27,778 entries

Horse show: 5,015 entries

Calf Scramble Program

Calf scramble and judging contest winners received 370 certificates, each worth $2,000, to apply toward the purchase of a registered beef heifer, steer or dairy calf to exhibit at the 2018 Houston Livestock Show.

Calf Scramble certificate premiums totaled $740,000.

Calf scramble exhibitors from 2016 who returned with their heifer, steer and dairy projects to compete at the 2017 Houston Livestock Show received more than $100,000 total in premiums and awards.
Auctions and Sales

Junior auction sales totaled $13,617,991.

Six junior auction Champion and Reserve Grand Champion lots set world or Show records.

Auction totals (unaudited preliminary totals that do not include cash contributions and some purchase commitment amounts) were:

  • Barrow: $2,773,280
  • Lamb and Goat: $3,100,979
  • Poultry: $1,615,334
  • School Art: $2,281,133
  • Steer: $3,847,265

The Junior Commercial Steer Auction totaled $628,539 (live auction of choice steers). The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Champion Wine Auction brought in $1,698,208. The Ranching & Wildlife Auction totaled $551,116.

SCHOLARSHIP AND EDUCATION

The Show committed $26,065,510 to the youth of Texas in 2017.

  • $14,272,000 in scholarships to be awarded this summer
  • $7,653,750 to junior show exhibitors and calf scramble participants
  • $3,614,360 in educational program grants
  • $525,400 in graduate assistantships

MORE FACTS AND FIGURES AGVENTURE, presented by Occidental Petroleum

More than 61,000 people participated in a scheduled school tour or field trip.

More than 20,000 little cowboys and cowgirls rode the pony rides.

More than 425 eggs hatched in the Poultry Exhibit.

Fifthy-eight piglets, 20 calves and 14 lambs and were born at the Birthing Center.

More than 65,000 sunflower seeds were planted in the Soil Exhibit.

The Junction

More than 16,000 people rode camels.

More than 3,500 children participated in Mutton Bustin' in The Junction.

Food (Commercial Exhibits only; does not include Carnival)

Visitors consumed

  • 47,480 tamales;
  • 38,000 cinnamon rolls;
  • 29,196 potatoes;
  • 18,915 barbeque sandwiches;
  • 10,819 sausages on-a-stick;
  • 8,000 funnel cakes;
  • 3,400 corn dogs;
  • 122 slices of bug pizza.

RODEOHOUSTON TV

Live television broadcast was available on FOX Sports Southwest throughout the U.S. and Canada, March 22 – 26.

Live stream of Rodeo action each night was available at rodeohouston.com and FoxSports.com/Southwest.

The Show produced four live streams of various Show activities and live rodeo competition each day.
Show Merchandise

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and entertainer merchandise sales reached nearly $4 million.

More than 80,000 items with the Show's logo went home with fans, including 25,000 T-shirts, 10,000 lapel pins and 10,000 cups and mugs.

Social Media

Since March 1, 2017

  • 357,031 public mentions online
  • 281,259,633 fans reached
  • 287,683,042 additional fans reached due to spread (shares of our content)

Carnival

The Carnival hosted more than 2.4 million riders during the 20-day run of the Show.

The top five rides were Skyride, La Grande XL, Windstorm, RaveWave and G Force.

The top five games were Bank a Ball #1, One Ball, Mini Basketball, Bank a Ball #2 and Tubs.

Visitors consumed

  • 41 miles of turkey legs, stacked end to end; and
  • 6 miles of burgers with all the fixings (buns, lettuces, tomatoes, cheese and pickles).
  • 80 semitrailers full of teddy bears found new homes.
  • 2 fields of corn were roasted.
  • 2 orchards of apples were harvested.

SOURCE: Show Officials.

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