Friction has arisen between the City of Prescott and Prescott Frontier Days, Inc. over a $40M master-planned renovation project for the Prescott Rodeo Grounds.
The rodeo grounds is the site of the City’s “World’s Oldest Rodeo” event, a major tourism event held every July.
The State of Arizona announced in its upcoming budget that it had allocated $15.3M for improvements to the facility. While Frontier Days had presented the $40M master plan to City officials in an information and study session in March, officials, including Mayor Phil Goode, said they were unaware the property manager had requested state funds. Goode said he learned of the $15.3M allocation from a radio news broadcast.
The City of Prescott owns the Prescott Rodeo Grounds. Prescott Frontier Days serves as management for the location, operates the rodeo and leases the property for $1/year.
Frontier Days officials say the state allocation is one of several requests the group has made to various sources for help in funding the project.
Arizona Representative Quang Nguyen, one of Prescott’s representatives in the State Legislature, worked on the allocation and said it was an economic development investment that will pay for itself in short order.
Deputy Prescott City Manager Tyler Goodman said no one on the City staff knew about the funding request or the allocation.
City officials expressed varying degrees of annoyance and disbelief that Frontier Days pursued the funding without notifying Council or staff in advance.
Rodeo officials say they have regularly communicated with the City about the improvement master plan since it was first formulated in late 2021. Frontier Days consulted on the design with Prefiert/Norris/Taylor in early 2022, held a stakeholders’ meeting last April and shared the draft plan and budget with Mayor Goode this January.
Frontier Days says it also informed the City it would not ask for municipal funding for the improvements but would look to other sources. Rodeo officials met with state legislators earlier this spring to discuss funding for the historic site. They also expressed surprise at the size of the final allocation.
Prescott Frontier Days expects to receive the state funding on July 1, and initial work is expected to start soon after. Among the immediate components will be improving seating in the grandstands, building a two-level restroom facility and possibly adding digital signage.
The larger plan includes a conference center/pavilion with a museum and gift shop, a new equipment barn, a covered arena, and improved access to the grounds. The entire plan could take up to seven years to fully build out. City officials say more review is needed for the overall project, including possibly reviewing Prescott Frontier Days’ lease arrangement given the scale of the property improvements.
The City and Prescott Frontier Days will host an informational public meeting on the project on June 6. (Source)
