Cal Poly’s 83rd Poly Royal Rodeo sold out within record time this year.
All 2,000 tickets of the student-only showcase, scheduled for April 9, sold out in a record-breaking 30 seconds yesterday afternoon, according to AnnMarie Cornejo, director of communications for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.
General tickets for the following three rodeo events, held April 10-12, sold out within two minutes at 12 p.m. today, according Cal Poly Rodeo Media Manager Anna Durham. Unlike April 9’s event, these rodeos will be open to the public beyond just students.
2000 tickets were available to purchase each night. While general tickets priced at $52 each are sold out, a small number of VIP tickets are still available for April 10’s rodeo, Durham said. They are priced at $152 each.
“I didn’t realize how quickly they would sell out, but I was at my computer at exactly 11:59 a.m. and was refreshing the page to make sure I could get some,” kinesiology freshman Noelle Thall said. “Some of my friends that I was planning to go to the student showcase night with didn’t get tickets because they were only 30 seconds later than me.”
The Cal Poly Ticket Office confirmed there was no glitch or crash in the system and all tickets were authenticated, Durham stated in an email to Mustang News. There was a limit on the number of tickets each user could purchase to ensure fairness, according to a Cal Poly Rodeo Instagram post.
The Poly Royal Rodeo’s popularity is no new occurrence. Due to previous years’ high demand, the Poly Royal team added an extra performance night on April 10, extending the rodeo to four days instead of three.
“I don’t think any of us expected a 30-second sell out,” Durham stated in her email. “Cal Poly Rodeo is incredibly thankful for the immense support and enthusiasm towards our program and Poly Royal. We are looking forward to another amazing year of Poly Royal.”
Wine and viticulture sophomore Julia Wood expressed excitement about the additional opportunity to attend the rodeo.
“I went last year, and I remember so many people weren’t able to get tickets because they sold out so fast,” Wood said. “I think the rodeo is a great way for students to be able to engage in a school-spirited event that felt very Cal Poly and gave a more unique, Western feel to the school.”
The first two performances serve as showcases, primarily focused on entertainment and education for attendees, Cornejo said. Since Cal Poly is the only team competing in these showcases, they are not officially college-sanctioned rodeos.
However, the Friday and Saturday performances differ. These are considered National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association-sanctioned events, where student-athletes will compete for points and prizes against nine other West Coast region schools, Cornejo said.
The extra showcase will replace the annual Poly Royal Banquet, Cornejo said. To accommodate this year’s change, the Rodeo Booster Hero Gala occurred on Nov. 16, 2024. All proceeds from the student-only event go towards the Cal Poly Rodeo Program, according to a university press release.
“It’s great that there’s an extra day because it gives more of my friends an opportunity to come watch and support me,” said Skylar Alves, a Poly Royal barrel racer and an agriculture communications junior. “Given the craziness of the ticket sales in the past, it is sometimes hard for my friends to come, so this is really exciting.”
Update: This article was updated on Feb. 19 at 2:15 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. to reflect updated ticket sales
