PRCA threatening to exit Sin City
Some of the biggest names on the pro rodeo circuit have made a break from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, saying the sport has been undermined by haggling over money.
The PRCA’s National Finals Rodeo, the 10-day extravaganza that has broken records in Las Vegas for the past decade, may now be relocating to Osceola County, Florida, near Orlando. County officials there pledged higher purses and more advertising money, plus a new stadium to host the event.
On their Facebook page, which quickly garnered almost 15,000 “Likes,” the cowboys said they wanted to ensure that “the integrity of their profession is not lost in the negotiations over millions of dollars.”
Last month, the PRCA board rejected an offer by its Sin City host, Las Vegas Events, to keep the NFR in Las Vegas for another 10 years after the current contract expires this fall. The PRCA’s members then voted unanimously for the organization to continue negotiating with LVE, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Eleven-time world all-around champion Trevor Brazile, called “the LeBron James of the rodeo world” by the Review-Journal, signed a statement saying the cowboys should assume more responsibility for the sport’s future.
In a Facebook statement, Brazile said, “We are forming a new organization to work together with committees and sponsors to make sure that the sport of professional rodeo continues to deliver the highest quality product to our great fans. … We appreciate what the PRCA has done for the sport in the past, but at this point we feel the time has come for the top contestants to be more directly involved in the future of our sport.”
The cowboys are frustrated that they are underrepresented on the PRCA board, according to the report. Crawford said they wanted two more cowboys on the PRCA’s governing body, which currently has four cowboy reps out of the nine board members.
“It’s an exciting time for professional rodeo,” Jones said. And Charly Crawford, a seven-time qualifier in the NFR’s team roping category, said, “We’d like to talk to Las Vegas.”
