Rodeo move pushback prompts presser
Town issues statement insisting it isn't talking about moving rodeo grounds
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The Town of Jackson is certainly feeling the heat from a movement to keep the rodeo and fairgrounds where they are. From time to time, the town issues statements about what it is doing. Rarely do they issue a presser about what they are NOT doing.
In a statement released today titled “Town perspective on fair and rodeo grounds,” town planners insist they are “committed to the [fair and rodeo to operate] in this same location for, at least, four more years.” The current lease agreement between the town (land owners) and the county (land users) expires in 2026.
Acknowledging a groundswell of recent support to keep the grounds intact where they are—spearheaded by ‘Save the Rodeo Grounds’—the town’s statement today appears as an unprecedented effort to set the record straight.
“There has been a lot of discussion in the community about the rodeo grounds recently,” the statement from the town reads. “The fairboard has made a formal request to discuss the possibility of requesting SPET funding to relocate the fairgrounds. A community group hosted a discussion last week focused on keeping the rodeo grounds where it is.
“The town is equally invested in supporting our shared western heritage and finding solutions for current challenges facing our entire community.”
The council has not had any formal discussions about the future of the fair/rodeo grounds, insists the town. All the council has discussed is the current 4-year sublease to the rodeo contractor to produce the rodeo through 2026. If any long-range planning—including talks about rezoning the current fairgrounds to allow housing or identifying a potential site for a fair grounds property outside town limits—has happened, it has been in a behind-the-scenes manner by staff attempting to tee up the discussion when it is scheduled for the town council. That could be as early as January 2022.
This preliminary look at the future of the rodeo and fairgrounds will merely outline the process of moving the rodeo/fair grounds after Northern South Park is wrapped up, says the town. Rarely, if ever, however, has the town or county opened potential development up for community discussion and ultimately chose a “do nothing” or “take no action” option.
For now, ‘Save the Rodeo Grounds’ has created enough friction that the town is feeling the heat.
“No one at the town has any intention of changing the use of the fair or rodeo grounds without thorough planning, a broad look at all options and possibilities, and ensuring there are places, whether at the current location or elsewhere, for events like the fair and rodeo to continue to take place within our community,” today’s statement concluded.
