FORT WORTH, Texas — Forty-three years ago Monday, a new honkytonk opened in the Fort Worth Stockyards. But before Billy Bob's Texas could even think about becoming the legendary country music venue it is now, they had to confront something more pressing:
Parking problems.
Billy Bob's opened April 1, 1981, with a VIP-only concert from Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers. The opening date was actually set on April Fool's Day so the owners would have a backup plan if things fell through.
But it all went off without a hitch, and the legend of Billy Bob's was born on time.
Well, almost without a hitch.
As the 5,000 or so VIP guests two-stepped to the Gatlin Brothers, dozens of cars were being towed outside. Fort Worth police reported at the time that 37 vehicles were towed away for violating parking ordinances.
Apparently, many more were likely parked illegally across the surrounding Stockyards streets.
"Well, at the present time, I think there's something over 1,000 spaces out there," a police official told WFAA's Brad Watson. "There should be at least space for 2,500 more cars."
Watson was out there on Night 2 -- April 2, 1981 -- for the first general-public show, a concert from the country music legend Waylon Jennings. The lines were long, but the parking situation had improved.
As Watson explained, Billy Bob's was supposed to have at least 1,230 parking spaces under its zoning ordinance. But the city zoning board gave them a pass, requiring only 330 spaces. The variance was granted after nearby Stockyards business owners approved the move, hoping to benefit from the customers Billy Bob's would bring to the area.
To manage the parking situation, Fort Worth police assigned 10 officers to the area.
Billy Bob's ultimately acquired more parking spaces, as its fame grew. In just over a year of opening, the Academy of Country Music named Billy Bob's its Club of the Year. And in the forty-plus years since, just about every name in country music has played a show at the Fort Worth honkytonk.
Today, Billy Bob's has a 20-acre parking lot on the northeast side of the venue, as well as valet parking. There's also the large Stockyards parking lot to the east of Billy Bob's.