Houston Rodeo extends deadline to get refund for carnival tickets

HOUSTON – With the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo canceled after just a week-and-a-half due to coronavirus concerns, many people were worried about getting their money back. Rodeo officials announced options for people who bought tickets ahead of time.

The rodeo is giving people the option of donating the money they paid for the tickets. The donated money would go towards “mitigating the burden caused by closing the Rodeo.”

Recommended Videos



The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced in a release Friday that it extended the deadline to receive a refund for half-price carnival packs. The deadline had previously been set at Friday, April 3.

See the options from the rodeo below:

2020 Season Ticket Holders

  • 1- Donate the balance of your 2020 Season Tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. (An acknowledgement of your donation will be provided.)
  • 2- Rollover the balance of your 2020 Season Ticket purchase for the March 11 – 22 performances to your 2021 Season Ticket purchase. If you choose this option, there is no action needed on your part.
  • 3- Request a refund of the balance of your 2020 Season Tickets. (Refunds will be completed by April 30, 2020. An email will be sent to 2020 ticket buyers by early next week to choose an option. If you do not respond by April 3, your balance will automatically rollover to your 2021 Season Ticket purchase.)

2020 Individual Ticket Purchasers

  • 1- Donate the cost of your 2020 tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. (An acknowledgement of your donation will be provided.)
  • 2- Request a refund of the cost of your 2020 Season Tickets. (Refunds will be completed by April 30, 2020. An email will be sent to 2020 ticket buyers by early next week to choose an option.)

If you purchased resale tickets through the rodeo, refunds will be automatically processed by April 30.

2020 Carnival Ticket & Food Card Purchasers

  • 1- Unused Carnival Tickets, Half-Price Carnival Packs and Food Cards may be used during the 2021 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. No action required on your part with this option. Your tickets will remain on your account.
  • 2- Unused Tickets and Half-Price Carnival Packs may be refunded. Additional information regarding Carnival Ticket, Half-Price Carnival Pack and Food Card refunds will be available next week.

Secondary ticket providers

If you bought your tickets through a secondary ticket provider, such as VividSeats, StubHub, Seat Geek or Ticketmaster, please contact those sites directly for refund information.

StubHub and Vivid seats say you don’t have to do anything to get a refund. When an event is canceled, you will be contacted by email because there are so many event cancellations due to the growing coronavirus concerns.

StubHub and Vivid seats will let you choose whether you want a refund or a coupon worth 120% of what you paid.

You can then use that coupon for up to a year on tickets for any future event.

Ready the full StubHub refund policy here.

Read the full Vivid Seats refund policy here.


About the Authors:

Award-winning journalist, mother, YouTuber, social media guru, millennial, mentor, storyteller, University of Houston alumna and Houston-native.