Billy Bob’s Texas opened on April 1, 1981, inside a sprawling building in the Fort Worth Stockyards that began life in 1910 as an open-air cattle barn for the Fort Worth Stock Show. Over the decades the structure was enclosed as a 1936 Texas Centennial project, pressed into service as a wartime airplane factory, and later ran as a department store before founders Billy Bob Barnett and Spencer Taylor turned it into a dance hall billed as “The World’s Largest Honky Tonk.”
At roughly 100,000 square feet with capacity for about 6,000 guests, the venue combines a massive dance floor with more than 30 bar stations, a live indoor bull-riding arena, and a stage that has hosted country music’s biggest names. Billy Bob’s has been named Country Music Club of the Year 12 times by the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association, and remains an active concert venue today.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas
- Type: Honky-Tonk / Live Music Venue
- Opened: April 1, 1981
- Capacity: About 6,000
- Size: About 100,000 sq ft
- Famous for: World’s Largest Honky Tonk; indoor bull riding arena
From Cattle Barn to Concert Hall
The building’s story predates the honky-tonk by seven decades. Built in 1910 to house prize cattle for the Fort Worth Stock Show, it was enclosed in 1936 as part of a Texas Centennial improvement project, later used as an airplane factory during World War II, and reinvented as a department store in the 1950s before Billy Bob Barnett and Spencer Taylor converted it into a dance hall in 1981. The venue briefly closed in 1988 before reopening later that year under new ownership, and it has operated continuously since.
Country Music’s Biggest Stage
Billy Bob’s Texas has hosted country icons including Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, George Strait, and Reba McEntire, and in 1983 Merle Haggard set a Guinness World Record by buying drinks for 5,095 patrons in a single night. Since 1999, more than 40 live albums have been recorded on its stage. Alongside touring acts, the venue’s dirt arena features professional bull riding on weekend nights, a nod to the building’s original life as a livestock barn.
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Billy Bob’s Texas FAQs
How big is Billy Bob’s Texas?
Billy Bob’s Texas covers about 100,000 square feet and holds roughly 6,000 guests, making it the self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Honky Tonk.”
When did Billy Bob’s Texas open?
It opened on April 1, 1981, inside a converted early-1900s cattle barn in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Does Billy Bob’s Texas have bull riding?
Yes, the venue features a live indoor bull-riding arena with events on weekend nights, alongside its concert stage and dance floor.
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Photo: Michael Barera / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.