"In the interest of convenience and customer satisfaction, we have made the new layout more 'customer friendly' by placing Destination: AGVENTURE and the Grandstand area closer to the natural flow in and out of the Astrodome," said Dan Gattis, general manager of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This will be accomplished by wrapping the carnival and AGVENTURE Plaza around the west and northwest sides of the Astrodome. Exhibits will be more accessible, encouraging visitors to arrive early and stay on the grounds after the performances in order to see everything. "One of the primary goals is to create entertainment earlier in the day to get more people out when we have the space and facilities," Gattis added.

The layout of the Show has been redesigned for four basic reasons, according to Skip Wagner, assistant general manager, Operations Department. The first is to improve safety. The former layout around the Astrohall near the Westridge entrance allowed livestock loading and unloading as well as the west loading dock operations to occur in areas of heavy pedestrian traffic. This permitted too many vehicles for trash, recycling, vendor service and livestock within the public area.

 The second reason is to improve logistics. Service vehicles will now be able to reach the west dock, exhibits in AGVENTURE Plaza, Grandstand backstage area and carnival more easily.

Third, it will help the presentation of the Show. "Visually, there will now be something of interest at every public entrance," Wagner said. The new layout will extend across six rows of parking, or 325 feet, beginning at Circle Drive, providing a 2,000-foot frontage facing the parking area and improved access with the addition of new admission gates at Murworth, McNee and North Stadium Drive. This redesigned area uses three less parking spaces than the previous configuration, so the total area used by the new footprint is about the same. Additionally, the expanded frontage gives the Show added opportunity for signs, which can be used for promoting its support of education, recognizing sponsors or welcoming fans.

The fourth reason is financial. It is anticipated that the new 6:30 p.m. rodeo start time will encourage people to come out even earlier in the day. This will enable guests to visit the exhibits in AGVENTURE Plaza and still have time to patronize the food vendors and other commercial exhibitors before going into the rodeo.

The biggest new attraction in this area is the Grandstand. The Grandstand's 60-by-100-foot arena has a seating capacity of 1,500 and will now be home to the Wild West Show, entertainers from the former Country Music Pavilion and the Hideout. In years past, the Wild West Show had been moved from venue to venue and only took place nine times throughout the run of the Show because of conflicting activities. The Grandstand will offer ongoing entertainment beginning at 10 a.m., including daily performances of the Wild West Show. Up and coming country music entertainers will take over at 5 p.m., followed by local bands and dancing from 9 p.m. until closing.

Destination: AGVENTURE , now located between the Westridge and Murworth entrance gates, will be more educational in nature than last year. "We'll be adding an area to the livestock exhibits that will feature beekeeping and horticulture. Enhancing the beef cattle static display will be a live cattle exhibit, which will range from calves to feeder steers. The primary focus will be on educating the public about the cattle industry," Wagner explained.

Of the Show's three petting zoos, two will be located in AGVENTURE Plaza, along with pig races, pony rides, a tent-covered food court and plenty of picnic tables. The Go Tejano Committee's Tejano Diner, along with three other commercial food vendors, will be located within the tented portion of the Plaza. Additionally, five food booths from Double E Plaza will be relocated to an open-air area at Westridge.

New to the Show will be University MarketPlace, a store within Rodeo University, dedicated to merchandising Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo books, videos and other Show licensed products.

Also new this year is an all-day mini carnival geared primarily to the younger crowd. "The daytime family entertainment is designed to appeal to small children as well as senior citizens, and supports our effort to get people out during weekdays when we have more room for patrons," Wagner said.

The main carnival will extend along Circle Drive from Murworth to North Stadium Drive, allowing expansion of the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Relocating the carnival allows for bigger and better rides to be set up and utilized during the barbecue. Between the carnival and the hedgerow, commercial exhibit spaces have been added, as well as a major stage presentation, large dance tent and a "fun zone," enhancing the entertainment experience for attendees of the cook-off. Additional entrance gates will relieve overcrowding at any individual gate.

President Jim Bloodworth is optimistic about the redesigned layout. "We always try to make our Show new and exciting as we continue to grow and expand our footprint. Since we are at capacity at night and on weekends, the new AGVENTURE layout and schedule will give more people the opportunity to come out at 10 a.m. to see the Wild West Show and exhibits. Hopefully, this is an area where we can encourage people to make their rodeo experience an all-day affair."