SAN ANTONIO — Thousands of exhibitors, vendors, and spectators will visit San Antonio for the stock shows and rodeo beginning Thursday.
A 2016 Trinity University study found the event brought roughly $250 million to San Antonio each year before the pandemic.
For the first time in two years, there will be no Coronavirus-related capacity restrictions at rodeo events. Masks are recommended, but not required.
"It draws people from all over the place," said Visit San Antonio spokesperson Richard Oliver, making reference to TicketMaster data that indicates more than half of rodeo spectators come from outside Bexar County.
Those visitors also typically stay for more than one evening, Oliver said.
"Those are the perfect kind of travelers for San Antonio," he said. "Having the rodeo back is kind of emblematic of how things are going. We're seeing a lot of major events coming back."
The rodeo offers a unique opportunity for the city to showcase its cultural identity, rodeo marketing director Chris Derby says.
"We really want to put that 'South Texas' flair into it," he continued. "San Antonio is such a great, culturally diverse city... we're making the rodeo feel the same."
As many as 32,000 exhibitors, including Emily Felty, will participate in stock show events. The 15-year-old spent 148 hours constructing a trailer for the agriculture mechanics competition.
"I did all this work all year," she said. "That moment where the spotlight can kind of be on me and my project and I can show off what I've been working for all year - that's really important for me."
About 6,000 volunteers helped ready the grounds. Another 300 vendors will sell goods at the Freeman complex.
"It's just great to see them all out there again," Derby said.