ProRodeo Sports News - February 5, 2021

PRORODEO FACILITIES

Photo courtesy That Famous Preston Night Rodeo That Famous Preston (Idaho) Night Rodeo is replacing the majority of its seating to hold greater capacity and to have more space.

Preston upgrades, expands rodeo arena seating Have a Seat

BY MATT NABER F ans were being turned away at the box office for That Famous Preston (Idaho) Night Rodeo. The rodeo would sell out fast, and fans lucky enough to score tickets were packed into seating that was more cramped than the average seat on an airplane. Years of fundraising and a massive group effort are falling into place as the arena undergoes a remodel to fix both problems. “The main thing is people complaining about the seats not being comfortable, and we were turning away a lot of people, about 200 to 300 people per night,” said Kris Beckstead, chairman of the Preston rodeo

committee. “With all the nights selling out, we decided to get a bigger facility, and we figured if we have a great rodeo, we ought to

have a great facility.” Since the 2020 rodeo was canceled due to COVID-19, the rodeo committee and community rallied to upgrade 70% of the arena’s seating, with more upgrades looming on the horizon. LAY OF THE LAND For 40 years, Preston’s capacity has been 5,200, with 16-inch bleacher seats and room for four wheelchairs. The project is expanding to 6,300 spaces in the bleachers and increasing the size of those spaces to 20 inches.

ProRodeo Sports News 2/5/2021

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