After 46 years in Colorado Springs, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and ProRodeo Hall of Fame are considering a move 183 miles north on Interstate 25 to Cheyenne, home of Cheyenne Frontier Days and its “Daddy of ’Em All” rodeo.
The legendary horse Steamboat is one of the many Wyoming names that have become part of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, along with other greats like Chris LeDoux.
Many of the names not from Wyoming have still been through Wyoming at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, including legendary bull rider Lane Frost.
That gives many of those inducted to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame a strong Wyoming connection. All of them could be in for a homecoming of sorts.
While the ProRodeo Hall of Fame & Museum of the American Cowboy has called Colorado home for 46 years, it’s seriously considering moving itself to a brand-new home in Cheyenne.
It would be a perfect match, retired bull fighter and former PRCA member Marc Gill told Cowboy State Daily.
“I see it as nothing but positive for Western lifestyle enthusiasts,” Gill said. “It’s going to be more accessible, in my opinion, especially with Frontier Days. And I just see their revenue exponentially increasing, just during Frontier Days.”
While there is heritage in Colorado, Gill said economics have been shifting for some time, and he believes the foot traffic they could realize by being in the Cowboy State would quickly show that a move is worthwhile.
“I don’t know the story on why it was in Colorado Springs to begin with,” he said. “I mean that is very centrally located to the U.S., of course. But the Pike’s Peak Or Bust Rodeo is kind of non-existent anymore. It’s kind of become the circuit finals, I guess, an NFR invitational or NFR open, but I just don’t see that rodeo bringing in the traffic.”
Being near the Daddy of Them All, on the other hand, should be magnetic to many of the thousands who make their way to Cheyenne every year for what is the world’s largest outdoor rodeo event.
“The amount of foot traffic that I can only imagine would go through the Hall of Fame during Frontier Days, it could probably generate their revenue for the rest of the year, right?” Gill said. “And we’re the Cowboy State. I mean, you know the PBR and the PRCA both have their roots in Colorado Springs, but with the PBR moving down to Pueblo and with (the PRCA) moving to Cheyenne, man, I certainly couldn’t fight that. I cannot see a down point to it.”
Land and Culture Locked In Colorado
One of the reasons the PRCA is seriously considering a move to Wyoming is that it’s outgrown the space where it’s at, economic development entity Cheyenne LEADS CEO Betsey Hale told Cowboy State Daily.
“They’re kind of landlocked,” Hale said. “They are on 12 acres, so there’s not a lot of room to grow.”
The property is also somewhat dated, Hale added, and the political dynamics of Colorado have shifted substantially from what it used to be.
“Colorado has kind of lost its Western way of life,” Hale said. “My kids still live there on the Western slope, so I have to be careful, because they live on a ranch, so I have to respect that. But Colorado Springs is now the Olympic city. If you’ve been there, they’ve got the Olympic Hall of Fame and the Olympic Training Facility, and their marquee, as you go into town says, ‘Welcome to the Olympic City.’”
In that sense, coming to Cheyenne would bring them closer to their rodeo roots.
“They can come here, and they can be the big deal,” Hale said. “So, I think that’s where they find Wyoming attractive. They can be the big deal, like our Olympics so to speak.”
Rodeo, Hale added, is Wyoming’s only professional sport.
“We don’t have NFL or NBA or Major League Baseball, but we sure do have a lot of professional rodeos, and a lot of professional athletes, so it just makes sense for us,” she said. “I think all the right people are kind of in place here. I look at all of our great rodeo committees throughout the state and the volunteers and it’s a real testament to them that PRCA has taken such a close look at this.”
Once In A Blue Moon
Opportunities like this don’t come along often, Hale said, and that’s one reason why she and her team have been calling the project Blue Moon.
“An opportunity like this happens once in a blue moon,” she said. “And, for a lot of communities, they never have this kind of opportunity. For Wyoming, this is an incredible opportunity to bring our professional sports association home.”
The opportunity was something of a shot in the dark, Hale said, but the idea was built off of existing relationships.
“Back in the spring, Ryan Lance, who is on my board, asked me if I thought it would be a good idea to maybe try to get the Hall of Fame and Museum and headquarters to move to Wyoming,” Hale said. “And I said, ‘Well, I think it’s a great idea. We’re in the Cowboy State.’”
They had not had any inquiries from the Hall of Fame at that point. It was a case of being proactive about exploring the idea with them.
“We formed a task force of tourism professionals, as well as my board and community leaders and elected officials and we said, ‘Well how could we do this?’” Hale said. “And we put together a presentation really more to catch their attention. It wasn’t a deal, it was just a ‘Hey, have you thought about Wyoming?’”
In August, the presentation was made, and it was a “wow” moment for both sides.
“Shortly after that we were told that, yes, we’d like to further those kind of conversations,” Hale said. “So since August, we’ve been working closely with Tom Glause and a committee of his board to really flesh this out. You know, what would this look like, where would it go, how long would it take, what would it cost?”
Glause is CEO of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association.
Hale said the committee is still in the midst of that drawing board discussion and wasn’t really ready for any publicity yet.
“So, when it says we’re beyond preliminary conversations, yes we are,” Hale said. “But we’re in the middle of what I call the meat and potatoes of it.”
It’s a due diligence phase that will show whether the project is a good fit for both parties, Hale said, and not something that can be rushed.
If it pans out though, Hale believes it will be fabulous for Wyoming and for all concerned.
“The Hall of Fame and Museum is this whole other destination attraction piece that’s a real upside. It’s just an incredible plus to the project,” she said. “This would really put Wyoming on the map as the epicenter of all things rodeo, so that’s why I think, as I look at it as an economic development professional, it’s exciting to do something that will be beneficial statewide.”
Glause has ties to Wyoming, Hale added, and she believes that may have given Cheyenne’s pitch to become their new home an edge.
“Tom Hirsig and Tom Glause rodeoed together over at UW, and I think Ryan Lance and Tom Glause were actually in the Mead administration together. These folks have just known each other forever.”
Not Frontier Park
One place that the museum won’t be going, if it does move to Wyoming is Frontier Park.
While Hirsig, who is CFD's president and CEO, supports the idea of the PRCA coming to Cheyenne, Frontier Park is a bit landlocked itself, and doesn’t have room for an operation as large as the PRCA’s headquarters, hall of fame and museum.
“It would be awesome, though, for the Cowboy State to have the PRCA,” Hirsig said. “I mean, how can you get any better than that? You’ve got one of the greatest rodeos, you got the Cowboy State — I mean rodeos is really our sport. It’s like some states getting the NFL or Major League Baseball. If it comes true, I think it’s amazing.”
Hale told Cowboy State Daily 20 different sites in Laramie County have been evaluated as a potential home for the PRCA Hall of Fame and expressed confidence that a suitable site will be found.
“That’s, again, something we do a lot of at LEADS,” she said. “We look at where companies of all types should go, so this was just a natural for us to start work with some local engineering firms to identify appropriate sites and then get it narrowed down to a few.”
The process is nearing the finish line, she added. She expects to have finalized the selection within the next 60 to 90 days. After that, the process moves to planning the site, as well as understanding the costs associated with developing that particular site.
The costs of relocating to Wyoming and building a new facility are something Hale said she and those working on this appreciate.
“We are running an economic analysis,” she said. The University of Wyoming is running an economic impact analysis, so we can understand the economic benefit of bringing the project here. Once we know that, that’ll really help us better define how we structure a financial package.
Having a brand-new location also has its upsides, Hale added.
“One of the things we want to ensure is that the Hall of Fame is special,” Hale said. “We really want the Hall of Fame and Museum to be a very immersive, educational, experiential, modern museum. So, it’s not just exhibits and displays, but something very interactive.”
That means employing tools like augmented, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other technological tools that can bring rodeo to life.
“The deal is not done,” Hale added. “I wouldn’t want anyone to think this is a done deal. We’re going to need a lot of help across the board. The most important thing we can do is honor the history of the PRCA and honor the Hall of Fame and Museum and the celebration of all their champions and all of their legends and really be sensitive to all of that.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
