Leadership / 02.21.24
The Joys and Challenges of Ticketing Winter Rodeo and Livestock Shows
Access Staff
When someone says to me in jest, “Hey, this ain’t my first rodeo,” I still tend to let out a slight chuckle as it’s a witty turn of phrase when used for situations that have nothing to do with riding bulls or roping steer. For INTIX professionals who are responsible for ticketing the actual winter rodeo and livestock shows that are put on in various parts of the US, though, that line can be a real groaner.
For Kyle Baun and Paula Urban, their first rodeos were many moons ago. These two cowpokes have been running all-things ticket office and admissions for their respective shows for some time now. And their challenges are both many and yearly.
Baun is Vice President of Ticket & Event Sales for the National Western Stock Show, an annual livestock show and festival that has been held every January since 1906 at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado. He says, “The hard part is we’ve been doing it 118 years. And no matter how long you’ve been at it, you are never 100% prepared for what’s coming up next. It’s always something new every year. You try so hard, you think you have it covered, but you never do. Once you learn that, then the job isn’t so hard. But you absolutely have to understand that uncertainty is part of this business.”
For her part, Urban is Director of Ticketing for the Houston [Texas] Livestock Show and Rodeo™, which is being held this year from Feb. 27 through March 17. And as long as she’s being doing her job, 2023 was the year a challenging new strategy had to be born. She states that “the best kept secret entertainer lineup is announced in early January. We put tickets to 20 performances — each with 15,000 to 20,000 tickets — on sale, on the same day at 10 a.m. For years, this was our biggest challenge. Between bots, server capacities, and the system being hammered by tens of thousands of fans, a grand customer experience was lacking. In 2023, we introduced the concept of selling in ‘waves.’”
Indeed, Wave 1 contained the first 10 performances and went on sale the day of at 10 a.m. Wave 2 contained the last 10 performances and went on sale at 2 p.m. She says, “Creating this ‘wave environment’ essentially doubled our capacities. Coupled with the use of a ‘virtual waiting room’ that opened 30 minutes before the sale, we were able to see the buyers in the room, filter out the bots, and randomly control who and how many entered the store each minute. This control allowed our tech teams to monitor the ‘store’ and keep fans moving in and out without blowing up the system and serving fans blank screens. 2023 was wildly successful. We followed suit in 2024 and held another very successful on sale.”
Both she and Baun touted the people aspect of their job as the biggest thing that has kept them engaged and excited about the work. Urban says, “Our show is a tradition in Houston. Watching our fans enjoy this outstanding event we build each year warms my heart and brings a smile to face. But it’s my colleagues! The 140 team members who put on this show are more like family than co-workers. It’s amazing to watch this team come together, put aside differences, and make this show happen! I love them as if they were my brothers and sisters.”
Baun spoke more of the rodeo culture that enthralls him: “It’s different than the sports world. People are just coming here to have fun and be entertained. There’s not that crazy sports-fan pressure to win. It’s all about being entertained, and rodeo fans are a great group of people.”
Baun speaks from experience, having started his ticketing career in the 1990s with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. Nothing quite prepared him for the rodeo circuit, though. “We basically have grounds admission for 16 days and 42 ticketed events every January,” he says. “So, we’re doing 58 different ticketing things in 16 days. That’s more home events than for a pro basketball or hockey team in an entire season. There are days where we have four or five ticketed events in the same day.”
He continues, “They’re long days. It’s basically a ‘Game Day’ for 20 days. We open the box office at 7 a.m. We close anywhere from 7:30 to 9:30 at night every day. January is definitely ‘go time’ for us,” which is then followed by 100 or so ticketed events for the rest of the year.
For both professionals, delivering customer service is the No. 1 priority. Urban recalls, “The first lady I ever worked for — I started in 1991 — always wore a smile and was one of the best at making everyone feel special. I took that from her. Regardless of name, position, status … I show everyone respect and treat them as if they were the most important person in the world. With the right attitude, you can even say ‘No’ if you do it with respect and a smile.”
Baun concurs, adding, “We’ve been here 118 years. We need people to come back year after year. Again, it’s not like the passion of sports. It is a much different environment. So, we need to put on a show that has people coming back year after year or we’re not going to be here for another 100 years.”
You May Also Like
Want news like this delivered to your inbox weekly? Subscribe to the Access Weekly newsletter, your ticket to industry excellence.
Tags: Leadership , Rodeo