SAN ANGELO, Texas — Before sunrise outside Foster Communications Coliseum, there were two empty folding chairs tied to the handrails at the arena's entrance by metal chains.
At the front of a line of people of all ages who stood behind the chairs, there were people expressing frustrations about the men who left those chairs to save their spots. About an hour later, the men returned and ticket sales opened for the 2024 San Angelo Rodeo. Immediately after, the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo's website crashed as people all over the city tried to buy tickets to the event.
Some buyers had arrived at the box office Sunday evening to buy tickets the next morning. Another buyer arrived at 6:30 a.m. Monday before he said he was scheduled to work from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Several people in line said they had not even eaten breakfast.
"I had my coffee...," Chris Serratt - who missed out on buying tickets in 2023 - said.
The Rodeo is a family tradition for many buyers. A woman in line said her son - who lives in Sarasota, Florida - drives to San Angelo for the Rodeo with her grandson each year. Another man said he hadn't planned to go until his five-year-old granddaughter asked.
"I have a lot of memories from my childhood, and my daughter's childhood also...," Mario Castro - the second man in line - said. "It's just really good memories, and it's good for making memories."
The San Angelo Rodeo's first performance is scheduled for Friday, Apr. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Construction on North Chadbourne Street is scheduled to pause during the event The City said it expects to have the road completely resurfaced by then.