HOUSTON – The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s planned $300 million expansion represents more than just a new facility — it’s a long-term investment in youth, agriculture and the future of the organization, according to Chairman of the Board Wesley Sinor.
Speaking with KPRC 2’s Michael Horton, Sinor described the project as both the largest facilities investment and the largest mission-driven investment the HLSR has ever seen.
“It’s the largest facilities investment in the rodeo’s 95-year history,” Sinor said. “More importantly, it’s the largest mission-driven investment in the rodeo’s history.”
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The project includes a 1 million-square-foot climate-controlled livestock and horse facility, a covered arena spanning roughly 100,000 square feet and a central building designed to host educational and historical programming.
The new complex is expected to open in 2029 and will be built on approximately 100 acres of Rodeo-owned property near State Highway 288, about three miles from Reliant Park.
“So, this is one of the largest livestock and agriculture-dedicated facilities in the country,” Sinor said.
No public funding involved
As plans move forward, Sinor said one of the most common questions he’s heard involves transportation and logistics between the two campuses.
He said those concerns are being addressed as the project moves toward construction.
“We will come to a world-class solution,” Sinor said. “It will be seamless to get back and forth between the two properties.”
Sinor also stressed that the project is being funded entirely by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
“There is zero public money involved with this,” he said. “This is all funded by the rodeo.”
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A mission years in the making
While the announcement was made this week, Sinor said the concept has been years in the making.
When asked why the organization chose this moment to move forward, Sinor replied, “Well, it’s interesting — it’s not really [about] ‘now.’ This has been going on for decades, at least the concept. We really started in 2019.”
According to Sinor, a major catalyst was the aging condition of Reliant Arena.
“A lot of these livestock shows are in Reliant Arena in Reliant Park,” he said. “That building, by the county’s own assessment in 2019, was beyond its useful life.”
Planning efforts were temporarily sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic before resuming in earnest around 2023.
“We were just worried about putting on our show every year during the pandemic and immediately afterward,” Sinor said. “But once we got back to normal, then we started moving forward again.”
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What changes for Rodeo visitors?
Despite the expansion, Sinor emphasized that the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will continue to be centered at Reliant Park.
Most of the attractions that visitors associate with RodeoHouston — including the carnival, food, exhibits and many livestock activities — will remain at Reliant Park.
“Reliant Park is our home. We’re not moving to 288,” Sinor said. “That’s just an expansion, a complementary event space for us.”
However, moving horse shows and other events to the new facility is expected to reduce congestion.
“It’ll still look the same. It just won’t be as congested as it was before,” Sinor said.
The chairman also pointed to potential traffic benefits.
“We’re going to eliminate 1,000 trailers coming into the park every day and 1,000 cars coming in,” he said. “So even around the park and in the community, people should see that benefit.”
Expanding opportunities beyond the annual Rodeo
One of the biggest advantages of the new facility is that it will allow the organization to host events throughout the year.
Currently, the Rodeo operates under a lease that limits its use of Reliant Park facilities to about 20 days annually.
“Right now, we can only program for 20 days. That’s all we have in our lease at Reliant Park,” Sinor said.
Because the new facility will be owned by the Rodeo, organizers will have the flexibility to host livestock shows, horse competitions, 4-H and FFA programs, educational events, committee fundraisers and other activities year-round.
“We can have a livestock show any day during the year. A horse show at the same time,” Sinor said. “There are so many different ways and so many different events. We built it very flexible so we can have all these events all year long instead of just the 20 days we have at Reliant Park.”
Looking beyond 2029
The Rodeo’s lease at Reliant Park expires in 2032, but Sinor said the organization is already working with Harris County and the Houston Texans on a renewal.
“We’re working to renew our lease with both of those partners,” Sinor said. “Reliant Park is our home.”
Asked whether any factors could change the Rodeo’s long-term commitment to Reliant Park, Sinor said the organization remains focused on maintaining its presence there.
“We’re looking at Reliant Park as our home for the foreseeable future,” he said.