Residents show up to ask council not to decommission old rodeo arena

A Tuesday, July 22 Gonzales City Council public hearing on the potential decommission and removal of the old rodeo arena at Independence Park was attended by many residents who wish to do just the opposite — see the historic venue repaired and restored so it can continue hosting events for another seven decades or more.

Mayor Isaac Anzaldua and council members directed City Manager Tim Crow to meet with representatives from the community to discuss ideas and options for the arena before the council holds a workshop at a later date to further explore the issue.

Crow said he brought up the topic for discussion due to concerns about exposed pipe and other hazards at the arena, which could be a safety hazard as well as a source of liability for the city.

“I'm kind of a villain in the room right now because I had this idea that the rodeo grounds are in need of repair,” Crow said. “This is just my opinion but I don't believe it's real safe. There’s a lot of rusty pipe. There's a sucker rod that's coming off.

“There's a lot of repair that needs to be done. I will not disagree with that, and I will not disagree with the significance that it holds to our youth and rodeo. I understand that. My idea spawned just from what could be done with that area, because it's in the middle of the park and it's in need of repair. What could be done in that area that would serve our community as a whole? That's why I'm bringing this to you — do we look at decommissioning it? Do we look at repairing it?”

Crow said he envisions the potential creation of “an outdoor Civic Center where the bleachers are repaired and restored.”

“It was once a minor league baseball field before it was a rodeo facility,” Crow said. “The 4H built the show barn and facilities that are next to the rodeo arena. Is that something where pickleball courts could be brought in? Pickleball is a very popular sport right now. There are tournaments that go on all over that can bring money to the community. Is it a place where under the show barn we could set up cornhole and have cornhole tournaments under there and put up picnic tables and whatnot throughout the area?”

Crow said the arena has been rented a total of 15 times since October 2022 and “it appears by the way it’s rented that it’s not used a whole lot and I was just thinking of something to do with the space to make more use of it for the community as a whole.” He suggested the arena could be moved to another location within the park that is not getting much use.

Public comments

Leslie Patteson, the secretary of the Gonzales County Historical Commission, said the commission believes “the arena is historically significant to Gonzales County” and wants to discuss what could be done to possibly preserve the venue at its Aug. 6 meeting.

“For more than 70 years, the arena has hosted fundraisers, play dates, rodeos of all kind and even, as I was told today at one point, donkey baseball,” Patteson said. “It serves as a stopping point for the Texas Trail Riders on the way to San Antonio every year. It's not just a rodeo arena. It's more than that. When I was in school here and half the community was in 4H and FFA, it was used all the time.

“The Historical Commission’s job is to advise and assist the county in identifying and preserving our history that includes the facilities in our county. The commission is offering to discuss the arena at our Aug. 6 meeting and to take it before the Texas Historical Commission to see if there is any way that the Historical Commission might be able to help in preserving it as well.”

George Reese said the community banded together about 30 years ago to donate labor and materials to make the arena “more functionable.” He said the arena has some of “the best dirt” in the state for riding horses and rodeoing.

“It'd be a shame to lose that where people can go with practice and not have to worry about horses being crippled,” Reese said. “It's just a shame to lose that arena. It needs to be rebuilt and all the seating put back in like it was before.”

Jesse Holt Campion said her first rodeo ever was in the old arena and today her sons are “the fourth generation of my family to ride in that dirt.”

“My parents served on the Gonzales Arena Association board and poured their hearts into making the arena better for all of us, all while unknowingly teaching their children what it means to step up and volunteer for this community, and that's why I stand here today,” Campion said. “This arena still serves our youth. Not every family can afford the JB Wells fees and not every kid is ready for the high level competition that's hosted there. This is where they go to learn. This is where they go to grow, to build confidence. We've watched kids go from lead line to state championships, and it starts here. This is real lasting value.

“Beyond the emotional connection, there's real economic opportunity. When this arena is used for clinics, play, days, ranch, rodeos, jackpots, benefits, fundraisers, it brings people in. They fill up at our gas stations, eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores. Small grassroots events create big ripple effects in small towns like ours.”

Campion said the town needs both JB Wells and the Independence Park arena — “one facility for large events and the other for grassroots development.”

“This arena is our foundation, and you don't tear down the foundation while you're still building the house,” Campion said. “Decommissioning this arena wouldn't just erase history; it would rob the next generation of the same opportunities we were lucky enough to have. We're not asking for perfection, we're asking for a chance, and we're willing to put in the work just like those who came before us.

“Yes, it needs improvement, so let's be realistic, and let's talk about it. If it needs a new management plan, let's create one, but tearing it down shuts out kids who are still learning, families who are still growing in a community that can and will benefit from it.”

Fifteen-year-old Jaxon Beck said the old arena “gives younger kids and local riders a chance to build skills before they move on to bigger competitions.”

“While most of the elite competitions are held at JB Wells, this is where we get ready for that level,” Beck said. “A lot of us wouldn't have without that stepping stone. If the bleachers were fixed and the city supported it, this facility could host weekly jackpots and other events that would actually bring in money and keep people coming to Gonzales. How cool would it be for Gonzales to be a South Texas rodeo hub for everybody to use to boost our economy?

“As president of Gonzales County 4H Council, I think I speak for all members when I say that we would gladly assist and clean up efforts. I just hope the city sees the value in this place and what it still means to kids like me, and what it could continue to do for our community.”

County Judge Pat Davis said he and others spent a lot of time welding in the arena and discussed how the Arena Association raised thousands of dollars to fix it, but was convinced to donate that money to the city to help build the JB Wells arena instead.

“We put all of our money into the JB Wells arena and when it was completed, we were all excited for our play days and everything in there, but that came to a complete halt,” Davis said. “We were not able to use the arena. It forced us back to the old arena. As some folks have said, there's a lot of people in here that would volunteer their time and would volunteer their work. They would volunteer money to put this arena back together.”