You know it’s rodeo time when truck after truck makes its way into the AT&T Center, to move over 2,000 tons of dirt into the arena.
A group of about a dozen volunteers loaded, moved and leveled the dirt in the process that lasts about seven hours.
The dirt is maintained at a depth of 10-12 inches.
The same dirt for the rodeo is used every year, and is 34 years old. The dirt was purchased from Charlotte in 1988 and is kept on property. Every year it is moved back into the arena via 70 truckloads.
The dirt will remain inside the arena throughout the rodeo, which runs from Thursday Feb. 10 to Wednesday, Feb. 23.
“It’s a well-oiled machine so to speak,” Bernie Rodriguez, director of operations for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo said. “Everyone knows their part. And it gets done probably in seven hours to get the dirt from outside to in here. We are excited about it to see the whole thing come together from the beginning.”
The grounds for the rodeo will open at 10 a.m. on Thursday, and the entertainment starts at 7 p.m. with Toby Keith.
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