ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 20, 2024

PRCA OVERVIEW

PRCA OVERVIEW

From the CEO BY TRACY RENCK T om Glause, PRCA Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the numerous positive things that happened in the organization in 2024 during his State of the PRCA address at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa Grand Ballroom, Dec. 3, in Las Vegas. “2024 was truly a remarkable year,” Glause said. “We hit a goal with membership. We’ve had the highest membership we have had since 2011 with 6,665 members. We’re really proud that our membership continues to trend in the right direction. We also had the highest payout in the history of the PRCA, thank you to all the (rodeo) committees for helping us achieve that goal. We had $2.5 million in new added money, and I thank the rodeo committees for bringing that to our contestants. That’s really a stronghold.” Glause said the PRCA’s revenues exceeded $45 million, which is up more than 50 percent since 2019. “The projected revenues and expenses for 2024 are $45.7 million and sponsorship continues to be the biggest portion of our revenue, and we have $43 million in expenses,” Glause said. “We push that money back out to our membership. We are not trying to pad our bank account; we are looking to grow membership. We are looking to put that money back to work to attract new members and make our productions better. “We are pleased to sign new contracts with Wrangler, Cinch, Choctaw and Teton Ridge. We are especially proud to welcome Teton Ridge as our new media sponsor. They just purchased our media license from Rural Media Group.” Glause also pointed out that the 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge met a new goal by paying out $12.5 million to contestants and $3.7 million to stock contractors making the total purse $16.2 million, which includes guaranteed prize money of $1.2 million for NFR qualifiers. In June, Las Vegas Events and the PRCA announced that the NFR will stay in Vegas through 2035. Over the term of the contract, a total payment to contestants and stock contractors will be more than a quarter of a billion PRCA CEO Tom Glause speaks during his State of the PRCA address Dec. 3 at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Hailey Rae

Glause talks about 2024 as a ‘remarkable year’

dollars – $264,323,474 to be exact. “The organization (the PRCA) is trending in the right direction,” Glause said. “We have 2.5 million followers on social media, and we have had tens of millions of video views of our social media videos, so we are happy with that. We have seen more than 71 million views of videos on social media. That’s tremendous growth and we are happy that we are engaging new fans.” Glause addressed how PRCA membership has increased with events like the Uvalde, Texas, qualifier where everyone has the opportunity to enter Uvalde with a chance to qualify for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. The Rookie Roundup also has helped boost membership as has the Permit Finals in Waco, Texas. The Permit Finals winners get a prestigious invite to RodeoHouston. “These are examples of what we are doing to try and create new opportunities for our members and in return, grow membership,” Glause said. Glause said PRCA’s biggest membership numbers come from team ropers and tie-down ropers, followed by steer wrestlers and then the roughstock events. “What I’m really proud of is we have seen growth in every category since 2022. In bareback riding, we had 290 members in 2022 and had 302 (in 2024). In saddle bronc riding we have gone from 468 members in 2022 to 496 in 2024. Bull riding has gone up from 703 in 2022 to 752 in 2024. We are seeing growth in our roughstock events. We have also seen a boon in our permit holders and that’s something that has continued to grow.” Glause did mention that the PRCA has also seen a reduction in turnouts. “(Turnouts) are one of the challenges we face, and we continue to search for answers and reasons and ways to reduce that number,” Glause said. Glause concluded his State of the PRCA looking forward to the future. “We’ve seen many new heights, and we are looking forward to even greater success in the future years,” he said. “We couldn’t do this without the (rodeo) committees. We need your help. We need your volunteers and everyone working together to allow this organization to continue the success that it has enjoyed for many, many years.”

ProRodeo Sports News 12/20/2024

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