Mesquite Rodeo – Mesquite, Texas
The world-famous Mesquite Championship Rodeo is located in Mesquite, Texas, the Rodeo Capital of Texas. Just 15 minutes from downtown Dallas in the climate-controlled Mesquite Arena. The Mesquite Championship Rodeo will be held on Saturday Nights in June, July, and August.
For more than 60 years, the Mesquite Championship Rodeo has entertained families with thrilling rodeo events such as saddle bronc riding, bull riding, barrel racing, team roping, and more. Have a delicious barbecue dinner at the onsite BBQ pavilion and hear the best in two-steppin’ music at this authentic Texas experience. The Texas State Legislature officially declared Mesquite the Official Rodeo Capital of Texas as of 1993 because the City of Mesquite hosts more rodeo events than any other city in the state, including Fort Worth.
The rodeo is a great place to entertain friends, church groups, scout groups, and more with action-filled performances, delicious food, and friendly staff. Group rates are available for a wide range of group ticket events for every size and budget. Contact one of the group sales executives to create the right group event for your team, church, organization, or any other gathering. The Mesquite Championship Rodeo will create memories that last a lifetime.
Charlie Columbus McNally founded The original Mesquite Rodeo, which was a permanent location and did not move town to town. It was held at the Charlie McNally’s Arena which was located on Hickory Tree Road, a little to the north of present Rodeo Drive. The original Mesquite Rodeo dates from about 1946 but was preceded by the Pleasant Mound Rodeo which began in 1941, also started by Charlie McNally, and is where Neal Gay got his start in 1945.
It was located on the northeast corner of Buckner Blvd and Scyene Road. Ironically it was closed when the City of Dallas annexed Pleasant Mound in 1950 and refused to issue a special zoning permit to the rodeo. Shortly after Neal Gay, Jim Shoulders and their associates purchased C.C. McNally’s property in 1957. They built a new arena on the south side of the property on the north side of present Rodeo Drive for the 1958 opening of the professional, soon to be renamed, Mesquite Championship Rodeo.
The entrance was still on Hickory Tree Road and passed north of the open arena (the roof was added in 1964) to a parking area on the west side. The brick kilns were just a few hundred feet southeast of the arena. The present arena was built in 1986 further south of the 1958 arena on the site of one of the clay pits. Rodeo Drive and Neal Gay Drive were constructed about the same time. The 1958 arena was torn down and the site remains undeveloped.
By 2001, attendance had grown to 200,000 during the season. In 2009, a group of investors formed a company called Camelot Sports & Entertainment and purchased the Mesquite Championship Rodeo from Hicks for an undisclosed sum. Camelot has reportedly invested nearly $1.5 million by adding high-definition video boards over the bucking chutes, remodeling and refurbishing many of the suites in Mesquite Arena, and adding a private restaurant called the 8 Second Club, which its members can use throughout the year. It was shortly renamed Resistol Arena after the Resistol hat company purchased the naming rights.