Globe Life Field in Arlington is the new home of the 2023 American Rodeo, event organizers announced Tuesday.
The American Rodeo is touted as an open competition that brings together top professional rodeo champions and “everyday, hardworking cowboys and cowgirls from across the country”. The annual event is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023, lasting between March 8 and 11.
The announcement Tuesday was made by the company Teton Ridge.
“I think what’s really cool about an event like this, it’s sort of a merge of western sports and mainstream. When you come into a venue like this, you can’t but be inspired,” Teton Ridge president Joe Loverro said.
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In years past, Loverro said the event was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The 2023 event is also longer in duration to give rodeo fans a “festival feel," he said.
“The thing I pointed out, and I think is most important is the ability to bring fans on to the field. That field access that we’re going to provide gives them a chance to get closer to the action than really, anywhere,” he said, explaining the decision to change venues. “With what’s been built here in the city of Arlington, it’s a draw in its own right but to have four days of rodeo and culminating with the American and all with concerts each night? I think it’s really special.”
For the past 31 years, Bodacious Bar-B-Que has called Arlington home. Owner Fran Ruegsegger said their business relies on regulars and visitors. They are located less than a mile away from the stadiums.
GLOBE LIFE FIELD
"We still smoke everything in house and do it the old-fashioned way,” Ruegsegger said. “Rodeo and barbecue, they go together. So, it’s a win and win for Arlington and the local restaurants.”
Expanding The American Rodeo will be a good thing for local businesses like hers, she said.
“It’s huge. A lot of times, we will have the out-of-towners that come in on their first day and they’ll be impressed with it, they’ll come back before they leave and go back out of town,” she said. “So, if they’re here three or four days, they’ll want barbecue at least a couple of those. They’ll want Tex Mex, a couple of those. It’s a blessing.”
She added that business at Bodacious Bar-B-Que has improved but it has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. They are also challenged by rising costs due to inflation. Any additional business is helpful, she said.
“It’s unbelievable. Most people really do not understand how much everything [prices] has gone up,” she said. “We’re holding on our own and God has provided.”
Globe Life Field seats more than 40,000 people. Event organizers said they expect the stadium to be full during The American Rodeo in 2023, but they do not have exact projections yet.
