The National Finals Rodeo, a signal component of Las Vegas’ annual events calendar, is skipping town this year for Texas.
The two-week extravaganza has been held at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, every year since 1987, generating in recent years around $200 million for Southern Nevada during the late autumn convention lull.
But a recent surge in Covid-19 infections in the region, coupled with a cap on gatherings of no more than 50 people installed by Governor Steve Sisolak, made its return problematic. So, its parent entity, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, is moving it to a state where Covid-19 guidelines are a lot looser, specifically, to Arlington’s Globe Life Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers.
That’s not to say there won’t be health and safety protocols in place, according to officials. Seats for the event will be sold in groups of four with separation between the groups, and there will a face mask requirement and other contact-limiting measures.
“We are a rodeo city and we’ve roped a big one,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said. “The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is an incredible win for our region and another example of how Fort Worth can host major events safely during this unprecedented time.”
“It is unfortunate that Las Vegas is unable to host the Wrangler NFR in 2020 with fans,” Las Vegas Events, which normally sponsors the event, said in a statement. “We congratulate the PRCA for finding a home in 2020 that will allow fans to attend, which in turn generates prize money for the contestants.”
But there is a silver lining. The rodeo will be back at the Thomas & Mack next December 2-11, with an extra year added to Las Vegas Events’ contract for agreeing to this year’s move, meaning the NFR will be a fixture in Las Vegas at least through 2025.
Texas has long yearned to attract the NFR to the state, so while the move is supposedly temporary, it could have big implications for the future of the event in Las Vegas.
