In a shocking development that literally everyone saw coming the second the dates were announced, Lubbock is currently bracing for the arrival of George Strait. Because nothing says “Hub City Hospitality” like price-gouging visitors until their bank accounts look as dry as a cotton field in July. Visit Lubbock is giddy at the prospect of 60,000 fans descending on Jones AT&T Stadium this April, mostly because those fans are apparently prepared to pay $1,000 extra for a VRBO just to sleep in a house that probably still smells like a freshman’s discarded laundry.
The CEO of Visit Lubbock, John Osborne, is helpfully pointing out that when demand is high and supply is low, prices go up. Truly, a Rhodes Scholar-level insight. His solution to the fact that we’re currently charging people the price of a used 2005 Honda Civic to stay in a guest house in Tech Terrace? We just need more hotels. It’s a bold strategy—build enough infrastructure to house a small nation just so we can accommodate two nights of “Amarillo by Morning” and the occasional College GameDay appearance.
If you haven’t secured your spot to see the King of Country yet, don’t worry—you can still snag a ticket for the low, low price of $250. And that’s for the seats so high up you’ll be sharing your nachos with a passing Southwest flight. If you want to actually see George’s face without a telescope, be prepared to drop over $3,100. Local businesses are “prepping” by hiring extra staff, which is a polite way of saying they’re bracing for a 48-hour period where every restaurant in town has a three-hour wait and the Buddy Holly Avenue traffic looks like a scene from a disaster movie.
Is there anything more Lubbock than charging someone three grand to sit on a metal bleacher in the wind while paying a premium to stay in a “charming” rental that’s definitely just three sheds in a trench coat?
