Billy Bob’s shuttle eases weekend parking woes at Fort Worth Stock Show

Stock Show visitors facing $10 parking — or, worse, no-vacancy signs — this weekend have another option: Park at Billy Bob’s Texas and take a shuttle bus to the gate at the Will Rogers complex for half the price.

Stock Show officials hope that the Rodeo Redline eases the expected crush of traffic this weekend, partly the result of rosy weather forecast but also due to construction of a 2,200-space parking garage that, ironically, has consumed more than 500 parking spaces. Saturday is traditionally the busiest date of the 23-day show.

“We’re always striving to enhance the visitor experience,” said Matt Brockman, Stock Show publicity manager. “Obviously this weekend is typically really big, and then you throw a great weather forecast on top of it, and we know we’re going to have big crowds.”

Brockman said the Redline will become a staple service at future Stock Shows, even when the new parking garage opens in 2017. After next year’s show, construction will begin on a multipurpose arena that will be larger than the 5,700-seat Will Rogers Coliseum.

Parking will continue to be at a premium as attendance rises.

The all-time record turnout of 1.25 million last year is not in jeopardy this year, Brockman said. But this year is on pace to break 1 million visitor days for the fifth consecutive year.

Among the light crowds enjoying Thursday’s activities, some said they took advantage of free parking on streets and private lots. Many in attendance were herds of youngsters and teachers from area school districts, taking advantage of student field-trip day at the Stock Show. Most of them arrived on school buses.

But parking wasn’t carefree for everyone, including Bridgeport students whose buses had to line up behind other buses at the gate, junior Reginald Lane said.

“It took us 20 minutes to get in here,” Lane said. For people driving cars to the show, he said, the Redline sounded like a bargain.

“It’s a good idea, for all the traffic that comes through here,” Lane said. “A lot of visitors don’t know where to park.”

One teacher, taking a break with her students, said she thought the Redline actually would take longer. “But it might not be a bad idea for the weekend,” conceded the teacher, who asked not to be named.

Bill and Elizabeth McClellan, decked out in purple for TCU Day at the Stock Show, said they would use the Redline. They were strolling about on their fifth visit so far this season, taking advantage of weekday specials that include free rodeo admission for veterans Monday. But they also squeezed through crowds Sunday.

“The weather was good and it was busy — but that’s good for the Stock Show,” said Elizabeth McClellan, a TCU graduate who retired last year after 44 years as a nurse with Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. “It might be good to just get on the shuttle on Saturday.”

But not so much to save $5. “It’s the Stock Show,” she said. “You’ve got to be ready to spend some money.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Billy Bob’s shuttle eases weekend parking woes at Fort Worth Stock Show."