Boots, bovines and booze
For the three weeks of rodeo, it’s always 5 o’ clock somewhere
Rodeo-Houston’s afterparty had all the makings of a good time. John Baumann was jamming onstage. Bartenders were keeping cups filled. And the dance floor had people hanging onto drinks as they two-stepped.
Nobody seemed to care that it was after 11 p.m. on a work night.
“Cheers, everybody; here’s to cold alcoholic beverages!” Baumann shouted to the audience at The Hideout, a rodeo club on the NRG lot that’s open to the public.
Scarlett Swanson and Kailyn Crowe left the club with five plastic cups — a trophy for each drink. “What’s a rodeo without Crown and Coke or an ice-cold beer?” asked Swanson, 21.
It’s an excellent question. Though complete sales numbers aren’t available, it’s clear even to casual observers that alcohol consumption has become an important part of the rodeo experience. For better or worse, its presence is inescapable.
“It’s everywhere in here,” said Andrea Williams, who lives in
College Station but comes to Houston’s rodeo every year. “Everybody’s walking around with a beer or margarita.”
The entities that sell alcohol at the rodeo hold their figures tightly, but the limited information available shows that the rodeo isn’t just one of the biggest parties in Houston, but in all of Texas.
The rodeo is a three-week event with opportunities to drink all day, said D. Christopher Taylor, director of the Beverage Management Program at the University of Houston’s Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management.
“It’s just a matter of context of what the rodeo has become,” Taylor said. “It’s not a rodeo anymore. It’s an event. It’s a vacation. It’s a concert.”
Despite robust alcohol sales, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo successfully maintains a family-friendly environment, said President and CEO Joel Cowley, noting that state alcohol rules are strictly enforced.
“Our trained bartenders must be TABC certified and practice responsible alcohol management,” he said. “Additionally, we actively encourage our guests to take alternate forms of transportation, such as Metro, to and from the show.”
‘We have to be responsible’
According to data from the Texas Comptroller’s office, in March 2016, the rodeo’s Corral Club (which includes the Hideout) sold $3.5 million worth of liquor, beer and wine under its mixed-beverage permit.
The Corral Club’s alcohol sales alone surpassed those of any other Texas mixed-beverage permit holder in the month of March. In fact, the only permit holder that outsells the Corral Club in any single month is AT&T Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play, for the months of September and December.
The Corral Club is only part of the RodeoHouston picture: The Texas Comptroller’s office cannot disclose similar information for vendors that sell only beer and wine.
So major vendor Aramark, which sells beer and wine-based frozen margaritas, isn’t included. In a statement, Aramark said that its food and beverage offerings have grown over the years alongside the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
The alcohol sales ultimately benefit the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s bottom line, which helps support its agricultural mission, said Cowley. If people have a good time, they come back and tell others to come.
“The more people that are here, the more on-site spending that occurs,” he said. “And that allows us, over time, to increase our commitment to youth and education.”
Of course, not everyone drinks responsibly. Sean Teare, chief of the vehicular crimes division for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said he believes a number of people drive drunk after attending the rodeo. Not wanting to blame the rodeo, he said it’s each person’s responsibility to know when they can and cannot drive.
Throughout the year, Teare said, additional prosecutors are on staff Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights to enforce the no-refusal policy. If a suspected intoxicated driver refuses to submit a breath or blood specimen, a warrant will be obtained for his or her blood specimen, which will be tested for alcohol, legal and illegal intoxicating substances.
“I think the rodeo does some wonderful things for our community,” he said. “But I think the big message and the big takeaway should be that we have to be responsible.”
Teare said Uber and the light rail have somewhat helped reduce the number of drunken drivers. And Taylor said there’s been an overall cultural shift: Americans are now more likely to appoint a designated driver or find a safe way home.
“I think people are overconsuming,” he said. “I just think they have the opportunity for safe, responsible ways to get home through Uber and the train system.”
‘It’s definitely grown’
It’s believed that alcohol was introduced to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo shortly after the first show in 1932. The original founders wanted a place to enjoy beer and talk about the day’s business, said Chris Ennis, who has volunteered with the Corral Club for 29 years.
He doesn’t believe the club began selling alcohol until the 1950s, potentially making next year the Corral Club’s 60th anniversary.
He said The Hideout was created in 1997 to give the general public who couldn’t get into the private Corral Clubs a place to go after the show. It has moved through various locations since then — and didn’t exist in 2003 and 2004 — and is now located in a giant white tent on the west side of NRG Arena.
“It’s definitely grown in the last few years,” he said.
A newer addition to the rodeo’s alcohol menagerie is the Wine Garden. It was opened in 2008 so rodeogoers could try wines from the Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition.
It began with just one tent that served wine and had a seating area. Now it’s roughly 30,000 square feet, with a spacious outdoor area and six tents.
It’s become a popular destination, giving people a place to relax with a pleasant ambiance and live music and surprise guests — Dean Dillon, who wrote many songs for George Strait, recently jumped on stage to perform.
And unlike The Hideout, it’s open to those under 21 years old.
“When you come out to the Rodeo, a lot of people come out with families, you want to sit and enjoy some music, but you want to be able to do it in a familyfriendly environment,” said John McAleer, chairman of the Wine Garden Committee. “This is about one of the only places that really provides that.”
Season ticketholders Lois and Pat Cain, from Katy, like to do just that. They can beat traffic, split a bottle of wine and relax a bit before the concerts.
And the rodeo committee members aren’t to be left out of the fun.
“It’s the thing to do,” said committee member Chris Nickel of League City. “There isn’t a person on rodeo who doesn’t drink.”