as big as texas

Here's how much money the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo lassos up

The rodeo broke records for concerts and brought in hundreds of millions to Houston.

Photo courtesy of RodeoHouston

Simply brave the lines at a RodeoHouston concert or any event at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and one thing becomes inescapably clear: business is bigger than a prize-winning steer.

To wit: This year, according to the latest data, the rodeo drew more than 2.5 million total visitors between February 21 and March 17. The rodeo also boasted more than a million unique attendees (as opposed to those who visited more than once), with 27 percent from outside Greater Houston. Visitors hailed from a total 75 countries.

Music fans will remember that the rodeo broke two records for concert attendance in 2019: Cardi B (75,580 attendees) and George Strait (80,108 attendees).

Obviously, the rodeo is a cash cow for organizers. But other than congested traffic on 610 and packed hotels, just what does Houston get out of the whole deal?

As it turns out, quite a bit, according to a new study. The 2019 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo generated a total economic impact of $227 million, per the rodeo’s 2019 Economic Impact Study. The rodeo also provided a total economic activity of $391 million in Greater Houston.

The report, conducted by Economics Analytics Consulting, studied the rodeo’s economic impact and economic activity, according to a release. What’s the difference between impact and activity? Economic impact measures the economic effects of new spending in Greater Houston generated by visitors attending the 2019 rodeo, per the report.

Meanwhile, economic activity provides a measure of the full economic power of the rodeo by quantifying the total spending in Greater Houston generated by everyone who attends.

Here are some highlights from the report, by the numbers:

Economic impact

• Total economic impact: $227 million
• Direct spending: $133 million
(This includes hotels, food and beverages, entertainment, shopping and merchandise, horses and livestock, farm and ranch equipment, ground transportation, and event spending.)
• Total fiscal impact: $13 million
• Direct jobs: 3,694
• Total jobs supported in Greater Houston: 5,133

Economic activity

• Total economic activity: $391 million
• Direct spending: $243 million
• Total fiscal activity: $20 million
• Direct jobs: 3,694
• Total jobs supported in Greater Houston: 5,918

houston-rodeo reports

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