National Finals Rodeo moving to Texas for 2020 event, officials say
The Wranglers National Finals Rodeo, which is usually held in Las Vegas, will move to Arlington, Texas, according to multiple sources including the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Texas Rangers officials and the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association held a news conference on Wednesday morning to announce the temporary relocation.
On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed the move on Twitter.
The event will be at Globe Life Field from Dec. 3-12 and is the first major non-baseball event to be held at the park since its opening in May, according to a news release. The experience is the season-ending championship event for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, a release from Abbott said.
The Finals has been held in Vegas since 1985 and annually projects 17,000 people in attendance at every performance, or 170,000 total, the Review-Journal says. Globe Life Field seats 40,300 and has a retractable roof.
Organizers said that the Finals Rodeo was “born in Texas” and the first three years of the event were held at the Dallas State Fairgrounds starting in 1959, multiple sources including Fox 5 reported.
“We are proud to welcome the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, showcasing the very best competitors and livestock in the world, back to the Lone Star State,” Abbott said in the release. “Western sports have long been part of the Texas brand, and Texas fans will be thrilled to see these competitors back in the saddle after being bucked off by COVID-19. Texas is committed to working alongside our communities to ensure they have the tools needed to spur tourism, and grow jobs and their local economies. I congratulate the PRCA on selecting Arlington and Fort Worth, and on coming back home to Texas where the very first NFR was held.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 10:37 AM.