New Orleans is aiming to lasso a new kind of mega-event to plug one of the biggest holes in its 2026 tourism calendar. On Thursday, officials announced that Hondo Rodeo Fest — the fast-growing rodeo and country-music weekend that debuted in Phoenix in 2024 — will come to the Caesars Superdome in April, bringing three days of arena rodeo and nighttime stadium concerts.
The dates, April 10-12, were unveiled during the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation’s (GNOSF) Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the Superdome. State and city tourism leaders — still stung by the unexpected loss of WrestleMania, which had been slated for the same spring window — said the rodeo-and-music format is exactly the type of multi-day draw they need.
“We’ve got a lot of rodeo fans all over the state — I go to the Angola rodeo, which sells out every year,” Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said. “There’s smaller rodeos all around the state that bring people from many other states, and we’re going to make sure we get them all to come here and fill the Dome.”
An event with big ambitions
Hondo Rodeo Fest is not a century-old cowboy tradition but a new, engineered-for-scale entertainment brand. Launched in Phoenix, it was conceived as a hybrid: professional rodeo competitions by day; major, ticketed country concerts by night — all wrapped in a high-production, festival-style atmosphere.
Its inaugural run drew strong crowds, positive reviews for production value, and the attention of sports-venue operators in other markets. Organizers have since begun expanding Hondo as a traveling mega-weekend, similar to the way large EDM or country festivals replicate their format across cities.
For New Orleans, that expansion comes at an opportune moment.
“I think the country music concerts — big name acts that haven’t been announced yet — are something that will help draw in everybody to fill the Superdome,” said Jay Cicero, GNOSF president and newly inducted member of the GNO Sports Hall of Fame. “When you pair that with a three-day rodeo, you get a destination weekend that appeals to a broad fan base.”
Hondo Rodeo Fest’s New Orleans dates in April, 2026 were announced at the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation’s annual “Hall of Fame” awards luncheon on Thursday, Nov 6, 2025.
While the country acts for New Orleans haven’t yet been announced, Cicero said the lineup for the Hondo Rodeo Fest running this weekend at Chase Field in Phoenix gives an idea of what to expect. On Friday, Nickelback and Treaty Oak Revival will be playing, followed by Kid Rock and Jon Pardi on Saturday and closing on Sunday with Jason Aldean and Riley Green.
A big hit
WrestleMania’s cancellation in New Orleans landed hard. When the event came in 2014 and 2018, it delivered some of the largest tourism spikes of the decade — tens of thousands of out-of-town visitors, massive hotel demand, and a weeklong series of ancillary wrestling shows.
City officials had expected an even larger impact in 2026. Instead, they were left with a vacancy in what is normally one of the most lucrative travel periods of the year.
GNOSF spent months surveying potential replacements: sports, music, festivals, and branded entertainment weekends. Hondo was attractive not only because of Phoenix’s early results, but because its formula mirrors what WrestleMania does well: multiple days, diverse programming and a fan culture willing to travel.
Nungesser said Louisiana’s existing rodeo culture — from the Angola Prison Rodeo to dozens of regional events — provides a built-in marketing base.
“We’re going to make sure every one of those rodeo fans knows that Hondo is in New Orleans next April,” he said.
Gov. Jeff Landry also lauded the win for the tourism calendar.
“This event represents the kind of major entertainment investment that drives tourism, supports local business, and strengthens our state’s growing live events economy,” Landry said.
Big acts coming
While Hondo has not yet revealed its musical lineup for New Orleans, the plan is to announce headliners in phases beginning later this year.
Tourism officials say the concert component is likely to be the decisive driver for hotel bookings, just as it was in Phoenix.
Though the 2026 event is a single-year booking for now, GNOSF and state officials have said the event will be booked for the subsequent two years if all goes well. The Superdome provides an indoor, weather-proof environment that gives New Orleans an advantage over many major-rodeo markets.
If Hondo succeeds in New Orleans, it may become part of a second wave of anchor events the city is cultivating: large, multi-day, high-production weekends that aren’t tied to traditional local culture but can reliably fill tens of thousands of seats.
For now, Hondo’s first New Orleans outing will serve as a large-scale test — both of the young rodeo festival’s ambitions and of the city’s evolving tourism strategy.
New Orleans may have lost WrestleMania, but sports and tourism leaders are betting that a well-packaged mix of broncs, bulls, and country-music stars can rope in a new audience and keep those spring tourism numbers riding high.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
