San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo 2027: the 78th edition, by the numbers

The 78th annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo runs Thursday, February 11 through Sunday, February 28, 2027, an 18-day stretch at the Frost Bank Center and the Freeman Coliseum fairgrounds, per Visit San Antonio and the rodeo's own Experience the Rodeo page.

Recent editions have drawn roughly 1.5 million visitors a year, the figure both USA Today 10Best and the Frost Bank Center cite for the 2025 and 2026 runs. The all-time record is older and even bigger: 2,034,497 estimated patrons in 2016, per KSAT.

This is the number that surprises most newcomers: since the program began, the rodeo reports more than $267 million in scholarships, endowments, grants, and auction proceeds benefiting Texas youth, per the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.

At its June 2026 awards ceremony, the rodeo handed out $765,000, with $590,000 in scholarships to 50 students and $175,910 in grants to local education organizations, per KSAT and KTSA. The 2025 show alone offered $1,741,000 in scholarships through its competitive events, from livestock and horse shows to Western art, per the RodeosUSA event guide.

Rodeo action is the anchor: bareback riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, saddle bronc, barrel racing, team roping, and bull riding across the multi-night schedule. Around the arena, the stock show fills the fairgrounds with livestock judging, youth shows, and the auction ring that keeps the whole event humming.

Beyond the arena there is the carnival midway with its rides, games, and fair food, a seriously impressive shopping concourse from boots and hats to Western art, and concert nights that have made the rodeo a February landmark for live music.

Treat it like the big event it is. Ticket demand is real, especially for weekends and concert nights, so booking ahead beats hoping at the box office. Arrive early, because parking and gate lines at the fairgrounds move better before the evening rush.

Weekdays are the locals' hack. The same rodeo, the same carnival, a fraction of the crowd, and a much more relaxed pace for families with young kids.

For anyone new to San Antonio, the rodeo is a fast education in what this city loves: Western heritage, family tradition, and big annual rituals done with real warmth. The crowd invites you in rather than keeps you out, and it is one of the few events where three generations show up together and all three have a good time.

If the rodeo is your first taste of big San Antonio gatherings, mark Fiesta on the calendar for April too, the city's other giant annual celebration, and the Muertos Fest and River Walk holiday lights round out a full year of them.

If the rodeo is what brings you to San Antonio and you are already wondering which neighborhoods sit closest to all of it, that is exactly the conversation I love to have. Call or text me at 210-744-5478, or use the contact page, and we will walk through it together, no pressure and no obligation.