THE DIRT ON RODEO DIRT
The dirt at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a very special kind of dirt.
It’s conditioned to be perfect for animals and humans to “interact” with during rodeo events, it’s old enough to remember Reaganomics and it’s given a little face-lift each year before covering the floor of the NRG Arena.
Oh, and it’s definitely not the same dirt that gets pummeled by monster trucks and other screaming vehicles during truck rally and motocross events. According to rodeo brass, that dirt, full of oil and debris, would be unsafe for the livestock, cowboys, cowgirls and mutton busters.
Which is why, if you attend the rodeo any night this week, you’ll witness a rodeo dirt that’s composed of clay base mixed with a topsoil that’s specially maintained year-round.
For the floor and service level of NRG, it takes about 600 dump-truck loads to cover the stadium floor. Move-in takes just under two days. Move-out takes about 12 hours, but can be expedited in about seven hours, according to rodeo staff. Dump trucks, excavators, dozers, motor graders and wheel loaders are all used.
Once it’s finished, the rodeo dirt is piled about a foot thick across the stadium floor and varies in height by a few inches in certain spots — used for specific rodeo events.
“There is science behind creating an arena surface that is of the right consistency to allow our animal and human athletes to perform safely,” Joel Cowley, Houston Livestock Show and
Rodeo president and CEO, said Monday. “Adding to the uniqueness of our event, we must also ensure that the new stage can roll easily across the arena floor.”
He’s referencing the rodeo’s new revolving concert stage, which is towed onto the dirt after each night’s rodeo events.
The same dirt has been used for about the past 30 years, according to the rodeo, and when the season is over, it’s stored on rodeo property at the intersection of Reed Road and Texas 288.
So, as the Chronicle’s Sebastian Herrera wrote in 2016, the dirt you’ll see at this year’s rodeo has also been inside the Astrodome and made the move to NRG Stadium in 2003 along with the rodeo itself.
The dirt has evolved somewhat over the years.
Topsoil is mixed in a little every year, and fresh clay is mixed into the pile to bring it back to the harder clay base that the organizers prefer.
The “gifts” left in the soil by the animals are sifted out daily. And the dirt is watered as needed to maintain moisture.
During the rodeo, groundskeepers drag the arena twice daily during weekdays and once on Saturdays and Sundays.
Back in 2013, it took a Herculean overnight effort remove all the dirt to accommodate George Strait’s last show inside NRG Stadium, with crews scrambling to clear the dirt away to make room for extra seating on the stadium floor.
Only a mild residue was left, but that probably just made it easier to two-step to Strait’s smooth tunes.