ProRodeo Sports News - February 19, 2021

SHORT ROUND Glen Alan Phillips steps down as NFR general manager A Job Well Done

W rangler National Finals Rodeo General Manager Glen Alan Phillips has stepped down, effective immediately, Las Vegas Events announced Feb. 11. The Wrangler NFR is scheduled this year for Dec. 2-11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Hired in April 2020, Phillips served as the general manager for the NFR throughout that year and during the event’s 10-day run in Arlington, Texas – a move precipitated by Las Vegas’ inability to host a fully-ticketed event. “Serving as the general manager of the Wrangler NFR was both challenging and fulfilling,” Phillips said. “However, my current role at the

challenges for everyone in the sport of rodeo – and especially for those involved in the production of the Wrangler NFR. We wish him well and extend our appreciation for his time that he served in this role.” “The National Finals Rodeo is the Super Bowl of Western sports and ProRodeo,” PRCA CEO George Taylor said. “Glen Alan, in his first year, demonstrated his professionalism and teamwork

implementing a significant venue change less than 90 days before the event. We will miss his leadership and be cheering him on as he does his work with the American Royal in Kansas City.” A new replacement will be searched for immediately. The new general manager will work closely with the PRCA, Las Vegas Events and the NFR Committee on all aspects of rodeo production. Known as the richest and most prestigious rodeo in the world, the Wrangler NFR attracts the top 15 contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding to compete for a share of the $10 million purse and the coveted PRCA Gold Buckle.

Phillips

American Royal in Kansas City will require my full attention going forward. We are in the middle of a new building campaign that will enable the American Royal to be a year-round agriculture epicenter. The NFR is the Super Bowl of rodeo and will continue to set the standard in our industry.” “Glen Alan served dutifully in his role as general manager,” LVE President Pat Christenson said. “2020 presented so many

Denver complex renovation delayed

Optimism about 2021 Cheyenne In the recently released 2020 Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days report, CEO Tom Hirsig kept open the possibility of the event returning this summer after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the event that had run for 123 consecutive summers. “We are optimistic for 2021, this will be a year it takes the whole community to get on board to make Cheyenne Frontier Days happen,” Hirsig wrote in the report. “We are looking forward to a great 125th celebration honoring the legendary Chris LeDoux.”

Denver must delay some of its plans to renovate and expand the National Western Center campus as it wades through the financial troubles brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, The Denver Post reported recently. City officials plan to use $274 million in bonds – yet to be approved by the City Council – for long-planned early-phase upgrades and expansions to the National Western Center and the Colorado Convention Center. But later phases at the National Western Center including a new 10,000-seat arena, an exposition hall and a public market in the to- be-renovated 1909 Stadium Arena are on hold, Denver Chief Financial Officer Brendan Hanlon told The Post . City officials had planned for that later work, worth an estimated $528 million, to be paid for

with a public-private partnership.

In May, the city paused the idea, and on Feb. 16, Hanlon said straightforwardly that the price tag is “just a bridge too far right now” for the general fund, because the city’s share likely would have been hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years. Denver, however, remains committed to the entire plan for the center that has been in the works for years, according to Hanlon and Tykus Holloway, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center. City officials will need to decide in the coming months how best to fund the marquee work. Because funding wasn’t secure for those phases there was never a clear timeline for completion, said Jenna Espinoza, spokeswoman for Holloway’s office.

ProRodeo Sports News 2/19/2021

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