Do you run a rodeo? An important thing to consider in your planning is the seating.
After the actual rodeo performance, the seating is one of the most important things for visitors to your rodeo – they want a safe place to sit, with a great view of the action! The best solution to the seating issue for rodeos is bleachers. They provide the most seating per frontage, which is always a limiting factor at rodeos. If your rodeo is at a location that doesn’t have permanent seating, mobile bleachers are a great option. If your location has some permanent seating, but you need more, consider adding mobile bleachers to supplement.
Nova Scotia Stampede (2024), with 8 of our 15-row mobile grandstands around the arena
What kinds of things should you consider when choosing bleachers for your rodeo?
- Number of seats
- Cost of seating
- Safety and building codes
- Aesthetics: how your seating impacts the overall look of the event
Number of Seats
How many seats do you need at your rodeo? What is your expected attendance? What is the maximum number of seats you can fit around your arena? These are all questions to consider when planning.
An issue faced by most rodeos is the limited amount of frontage available in front of their most popular shows. How do you get more seats when you can’t extend further out? Go up! Did you know that mobile bleachers are available as high as 15 rows tall? If you are currently using 5 row bleachers, you could literally triple the amount of seating in front of your top shows by replacing them with 15 row bleachers!
Cost of Seating
You might be thinking “Big bleachers sound great, but they’re really expensive. We don’t have that kind of money!” Consider the alternative – you have no (or not enough) seating in front of the show people came to watch, and then your visitors leave, with a bitter taste in their mouths. What is a happy lifetime customer worth to your event?
Say you can add 500 more seats around your arena. Assuming you charge $20/ ticket, and have 2 performances, this would bring in and extra $20,000! That could definitely be a good return on your investment!
Because our bleachers are so quick and easy to setup (15-30 minutes per set, with 1 person), they are much more cost-efficient than bleachers built on-site. Our rural pricing starts at $5/seat, plus delivery.
“But, I’m sure there are cheaper bleachers out there!?” If you think renting safe bleachers is expensive, try renting unsafe ones. The liability of having unsafe bleachers that don’t meet building code and insurance requirements will cost you more in the long run.
Safety and Building Codes
As an event organizer, it is your responsibility to do everything in your power to keep your guests safe. This includes the seating you provide. Is the seating at your rodeo (either owned or rented) keeping your guests safe? As much as building code rules can be a pain in the neck, they were created for a reason. Having safe bleachers that meet building code reduces your liability, and makes the event seating more accessible to guests with mobility challenges, seniors, and children.
Do you know what the building code requires when it comes to bleachers? While the rules vary slightly from one state/province to another, the International Building Code has set guidelines for bleachers that are standard. Things to look at include: stairs with hand rails, side and back rails, gap sizes between rows, etc. This is a whole other topic (that you can learn about in our bleacher safety blog series), but it is an important thing to educate yourself on and consider when choosing your seating.
Whether buying or renting, be sure to insist that the bleachers you provide to your guests meet both IBC and local building code standards. Any reputable bleacher supplier should be able to tell you these requirements. Sometimes, there are additional local fire code regulations for indoor events – if you are hosting an indoor event, make sure to check into this as well.
One important safety rule: a 4” sphere shouldn’t be able to fit through your bleachers!
We have a simple “Bleacher Safety Checklist” that you can download HERE to review your bleachers.
Aesthetics
Don’t forget about the aesthetics of your event. People will notice how the rodeo grounds look, and it will impact their overall impression of the event. How will your seating choice impact the overall look of your fair?
If you have old, run-down bleachers, this will factor into visitor’s overall perception of the event. Could renting some state-of-the art mobile bleachers elevate the status of your event, causing visitors to want to return again? Again … what is the lifetime value of a happy visitor to your event?
In just 7 years, we were able to quadruple the size of our own rodeo, while also increasing the ticket price and improving the visitor experience. One of the key parts to this growth was upgrading our seating.
This was the Norfolk Rodeo (Simcoe, ON) in 2016. It was our first year, and we had wooden 5-row bleachers with enough seating for 600 people.
This is the Norfolk Rodeo in 2024. We now have 3400 SAFE seats around the arena!
Summary
Bleacher seating is a major consideration for your rodeo. In your planning, make sure to think about how many seats you need (and can fit), the safety of the bleachers you provide, and how the bleachers impact the overall aesthetics of your event.
If you ever have questions about bleachers, we are happy to answer them! If you are looking to rent (or purchase) bleachers, we would be happy to either give you a quote, or connect you with a reputable company in your area.
www.BleacherRentals.com 800-436-0416
P.S. We supply bleachers for indoor rodeos too!