The North Texas Fair & Rodeo closed out its 95th season Saturday with a night of entertainment topped off by headliner Tracy Lawrence, but in a summer of record-breaking heat, officials say total revenue as of Thursday is down 16%, and they expect the final total to be worse.
Glenn Carlton, the fair’s executive director, didn’t break down the revenue or attendance numbers in an email, but said he was surprised by the numbers compared to last year’s record-breaking attendance.
“Through Thursday, total revenue is down 16% compared to our record-breaking year in 2022,” Carlton said in an email. “Attendance numbers follow that. We are right in line with 2021. We expected it to be much worse, and we are pleasantly surprised with the 16%.”
In 2021, the fair reported a record-high revenue of $3.2 million. In 2020, the fair earned $1.95 million in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. The fair’s next-highest revenue total was in 2019, with $2.67 million.
The fair and rodeo took place at the North Texas Fairgrounds over nine days, from Aug. 18 through Saturday, Aug. 26.
Extreme temperatures became an issue during this year’s fair. Officials delayed opening times for amusement rides each day of the fair due to temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. Fair staff announced that rides would open around 7 p.m., “or as soon as they become cool to the touch,” noting that it had been over 11 years since they had to institute such a delay.
Carlton said heat safety was a priority this year. He said all fair volunteers were instructed to give away water to anyone who needed it, and organizers doubled the number of emergency medical staff at the fairgrounds.
“We have over 700 volunteers and some are mobile, on 50 carts,” Carlton said in an email. “All of the carts are equipped with coolers of water. We added more tent coverage this year, enlarged the Cool Zone area, and enlarged the southwest gate. We have a total of 30,000 square feet of tents. We also have two buildings that are air-conditioned. We doubled the number of EMTs on the grounds to handle heat-related calls. We have doubled the number of Portacools located throughout the grounds. All animals are in the shade with fans and water. We have already gone through over 60 tons of ice.”
On Saturday, Denton’s weather observation station recorded a high of 108 around 3 p.m., and it was still over 100 at 7 p.m.
But for the fair’s last day, visitors still waited in line to get their Magic Money digital currency to pay for food, drinks, rides and more.
People packed the popular Coors Rodeo Arena for the Bull Blowout rodeo at 7:30 p.m. The North Texas State Fair Association added seating to the arena this year due to demand.
“We added 800 seats to the rodeo arena seating capacity and added a remote parking lot,” Carlton said. “The first Saturday, the rodeo arena was at 95% capacity, an estimated rodeo crowd of 4,700 people for that night.”
Some fans staked out their spots a half-hour before the start of Lawrence’s concert on the Miller Lite Main Stage. The crowd cheered as the Nashville star took the stage to perform his hits.
“As usual, we put the best entertainment together possible,” Carlton said. “We are already looking at entertainers and attractions for 2024.”