ProRodeo Sports News - Nov. 22, 2019

Fans always come first WRANGLER NATIONAL FINALS RODEO

BY PAT CHRISTENSON, PRESIDENT, LAS VEGAS EVENTS T his year marks my 35th National Finals Rodeo. I served as the as- sistant director at theThomas &Mack Center when it moved to Las Vegas in 1985. In those 34 years Las Vegas has grown immensely, not just in terms of hotel rooms and population, but the continuous evolution of the experience it provides its guests. Las Vegas Events is committed to continuing that tradition of innovation at the NFR. The importance of the NFR goes beyond the economic benefits to the city. It is a tremendous source of citywide pride that we top the previous years’ fan experience, while creating new and unique, one-of-a-kind, customized experiences. The NFR Experience was created to do just that. Our 35th NFR is a particularly big year of improvements in which we have made hundreds of small improvements and nearly two dozen major fan enhancements. NEW IN 2019 To honor the 35thWrangler NFR in Las Vegas, and in association with the PRCA and Geronimo Productions, we launched a video series at NFRExperience.com highlighting the “Top 35 Most Memorable Las Vegas NFRMoments.” Dec. 12 is “Show Us Your Retro” night, and fans are encouraged to look old-school rodeo and post to our social channels. Lucky ones will be shown on the video board. We know you can’t get enough inside dirt —pun intended— about the Wrangler NFR, so we launched the weekly “NFR Extra Podcast,” which will run daily during the rodeo. Hosted by insiders Rockin’ Robbie Hodges

and Nevada Colwell, guests have included Donnie Gay, Charlie Daniels, Tyson Durfey, Tuf Cooper and Fallon Taylor. Fans will notice changes from the time they enter theThomas &Mack Center parking lot. For logistics, an improved traffic plan has been created, and the ride-share drop and pick-up area will be moved across the street from the arena, where riders can get out of the lot quicker. Don’t be late this year because our state-of-the-art video board will feature new interactive pre-show elements, and new general manager Boyd Polhamus has some surprises for the openings. Also, we will introduce a new interactive game, Rodeo Guess, that can be played anywhere. For the first time, digital ticketing is available for easy ticket sharing, or fans can use the traditional souvenir tickets. Also, a partnership with StubHub has added to the Official Online Fan to FanMarketplace — the NFR Ticket Exchange, where bought and sold tickets are guaranteed authentic. Multiple improvements have been made to Cowboy Christmas — now also home to the Junior World Finals presented by YETI. Many photo opportunities have been added, including Santa Claus. As always, hundreds of one-of-a-kind exhibitors will be on hand, but new this year will be the 20,000-square-foot Bites and Brews Total Feeds adjacent to the Wrangler Rodeo Arena that will feature more than a dozen custom cuisine options and large-screen televisions. NFR Central will be anchored by social media icon Dale Brisby and feature radio remotes, autograph sessions, giveaways and more. The NFR After Dark will feature all nightlife options with a spin-to- win game for 2020 NFR tickets. Vegas awaits you!

EXPERIENCE LAS VEGAS

ProRodeo Sports News 11/22/2019

ProRodeo.com

94