It could be. Muscle Beach contests on Venice Beach, California on July 4th attracted a full crowd, but it is on the beach, where the parking lot of thousands of cars was full by 9:30am in the morning.
As for the Houston Pro, the right mixture, with the right sponsorships, and coordinated effort with the expenses vs. revenues, it may have done ok. In any case, I think the number of IFBB competitors (over 70) made it successful.