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There has not been a western revival, like the one now seen, since the 1980s. Everyone seemed to wonder who shot J.R. in the TV series "Dallas" or watched John Travolta two-step in the movie "Urban Cowboy."
"Urban Cowboy" caused the sale of boots and cowboy hats to soar across the country.
Popular today are streaming series that feature the cowboy way, like "Yellowstone," "1923," and "Ransom Canyon."
And so, the redevelopment of the Frost Bank Center and Freeman Coliseum comes with perfect timing, especially with its major goal of attracting western style events and entertainment year-round outside of the popular San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, held every February.
While the Stock Show & Rodeo brings in hundreds-of-millions of dollars each year for the local economy, there are hundreds-of-millions of dollars more to be made from industry competitions, conventions, and gatherings, according to rodeo officials.
The suggested master plan from Hunt Development Group and Lincoln Property Company, which recently saw its request for qualifications approved by the Freeman Coliseum advisory board, begins around the stock show and rodeo.
But it foresees 3.6 million-square-feet of mixed-use district development over 15 years while ensuring uninterrupted rodeo and arena operations and a phased in strategy that preserves nearly 11,000 parking spots and improving traffic flow.
"Rodeo and livestock operations will be consolidated on the site's west side, allowing for seamless activation of the of the entire district" during the rodeo, according to a presentation of the plan.
The suggested master plan also calls for year-round hotel, retail, entertainment, dining venues, parks, a water park, plazas, flexible outdoor spaces, and affordable housing and all connected by walkable and well-lit streets, and hike and bike trails.
The east side of the site will get its inspiration from the successful Fort Worth Stockyards with its Drover Hotel and retail, the Will Rogers/Dickies Arena Complex, and the American Airlines Center.
The plan calls for Willow Springs Park to be linked to the rodeo grounds by a pedestrian bridge, and more well-lit hike-and-bike trails connected to neighborhoods along restored Menger Creek and a community park.
All of it will be community driven for and by the East Side, the developers said. Cultural identify, cultural heritage, and agriculture and nature at center stage, are all part of the plan.
Voters on Nov. 4 approved Propositions A & B to improve rodeo grounds and put the Spurs in a new downtown arena.
