San Antonio Stock Show

San Antonio Stock Show
The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo in San Antonio, Texas, USA is one of the leading Livestock Shows & Rodeos in the entire country, which originated in 1950. This twelve-monthly event takes place in February for duration of over two-weeks. Until 2003, the rodeo's stable home was the Joe & Harry Freeman Coliseum when its major events moved into the AT&T Center.

Since its beginning, the Stock Show & Rodeo has developed and refurbished over the years. In 1984 the Rodeo began a scholarship program for students interested in following agricultural degrees. Subsequent to that, the organization has given over $64 million dollars through scholarships, grants, endowments, funds, cattle auctions and others resources. In 2003, after AT&T Center became a part of the event, the neighboring Freeman Coliseum offered to add on-site entrance for traders to market their western outfits, furniture and other items during the annual rodeo. The San Antonio Stock Show is one of the top five The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeos in the nation. In 2003 it received special recognition by the PRCA Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame. The total turnout at the 56th Annual (2005) Rodeo was estimated to be 1.1 million, with about $500,000 in prizes money to be awarded to winning rodeo participants and the grand champion steer was bid off for over $110,000.

The event requires over 4,000 volunteers and the NBA Spurs and AHL Rampage to play an extended away game schedule.In 1854, in an up-and-coming Texas cattle town, history was written when one of the first ever Texas Agricultural Fairs was held in San Antonio. In the subsequent years, many other festivals and exhibition were held in San Antonio and all came across the same crisis, insufficient facilities to cater to their needs and requirements. It was apparent that South Texas was in extreme need of amenities and services to provide all the necessities for a livestock exhibition.

In the early 1940s Joe Freeman met this demand for necessary accommodations. He was the one responsible for beginning the movement which in due course gave birth to the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum. Freeman's two primary interests were youth and the agricultural and livestock industries. It was his vision to build a coliseum, to facilitate for a number of occasions and events, exclusively, a livestock exhibition for the youth of Texas. After accumulating several volunteers, ranging from cattlemen to sports-minded citizens, the movement began to assemble this versatile coliseum. In January of 1948, the years of hard work for compiling support and necessary funds for building the coliseum paid off with the commencement of its construction and ultimately, in September, the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum was opened to the public.

On February 17, 1950, a milestone event took place with the first Annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. The first exhibition didn't gather much success and failed to be the perfect entertainment material for more than a quarter of a million visitors.

In 1984, the insightful SALE Executive Committee began to assume about encouraging 4-H and FFA high school students to persist in their interest in terms of the agriculture industry by majoring in agricultural-related studies in college. So was born the SALE Scholarship Fund which awarded fifteen, four-year scholarships totaling $90,000 to students entering Texas colleges in the fall of 1984.

Then again, the year 2003 marked history of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. For the first time ever since 1950, the rodeo & concert performance instead of being held at the Freeman Coliseum was held in the brand new, ultra-modern facility, the SBC Center, located adjacent. The SBC Center, which is now named as the AT&T Center, is a top-notch arena with exceptional amenities, with an accommodation for over 6,000 more seats, which has increased than the previously available figure in the Freeman Coliseum. Later then, The Freeman Coliseum became the home to hundreds of commercial retailers providing the right place for rodeo fans ready to shop.

In 1950, since SALE's inauguration, the Stock Show & Rodeo has developed to be one of the most prevalent and high-status event in San Antonio, attracting over one million visitors annually. Up till now, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo educational commitment exceeds $79 million with a record $7.6 million committed in 2007 in the form of scholarships, grants, endowments, auction, calf scramble program and show premiums paid to youth.

The achievement of the event has undoubtedly laid a positive impact on the community, superlative rodeo action and amusement and capability to present financial support to Texas youth is the result of many hours of hard work by committed SALE volunteers.

SALE has an affluent custom and history of serving the community, agriculture industry and youth of Texas. With a comprehensible revelation of the future, a flourishing past and incessant dedication from over 4,000 volunteers, SALE will continue to endow with wholesome family entertainment and act as a platform for strengthening and supporting the youth of Texas.