The Salinas Rodeo Oversight Committee welcomes the community for the first time.

The Salinas Rodeo Oversight Committee met on Wednesday, June 17 to discuss the economic, fiscal and social impact of the California Rodeo Salinas along with the year-round events at the Salinas Sports Complex.

The committee consists of three city council members, Tony Barrera, Gloria De La Rosa and Jose Luis Barajas, who is currently excused from his duties.

It was the first rodeo meeting available to the public.

“I think that this meeting should have taken place much sooner,” said Salinas resident, Eloise Shim.

Another Salinas resident, Ignacio Fregoso praised the city for formalizing the meeting. “I think it brings some sort of transparency,” he said.

During the meeting, the committee received an economic, fiscal and social impact report on the event. 

The rodeo, which will be held from July 16-19 this year, draws nearly 90,000 attendees annually, 60 percent of which are locals and 40 percent of which are visitors. This year marks the 116th year of the event and in 2025, the rodeo nationally brought 116,000 households to watch the event live, according to the rodeo’s 2025 economic, fiscal and social impact report.

The event donated $854,000 to 39 nonprofits and service groups and awarded $30,000 in scholarships to six recipients to help them go to college, which the event has been doing since the 1980s, according to Barbara Causley, general manager of the rodeo.

“I’m proud of the rodeo and happy to see all these nonprofits in our community receiving help with the donation that [the rodeo] gives,” said Councilmember Gloria De La Rosa, a member of the committee.

Causley also shared that the event itself creates 83 jobs and generates an $18.7 million economic output, including $2.4 million in tax revenue. In 2025, the rodeo and the Salinas Sports Complex jointly contributed $17 million in direct spending within Monterey County. About 86 percent of this activity originated from rodeo operations, while 14 percent was generated by events and year-round operations at the complex.

“People who might not normally be from here, they don't live here, are purposefully coming to enjoy our amazing city and our amazing stadium,” Causley said. “And the great thing about visitors is when they come, they like to spend money with our local economy, and on average every person that comes from town spends $160 per person, so that goes towards food, towards lodging, towards shops and enjoying yourself while you're in Salinas.”

Tim Baldwin, third vice president of the event, was also at the meeting and shared that there are a total of 1,400 volunteers for the event and an additional 350 student volunteers.

There will be 110 horses at the rodeo and this year's theme is “America Salutes Red, White & Boots.”