Arlington lands National Finals Rodeo as sport’s No. 1 event moves to Texas for 2020
Globe Life Field in Arlington will be the host site for pro rodeo’s equivalent of the World Series.
The 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is scheduled for Dec. 3-12 at the venue, which is best known for being the new home field for Texas Rangers baseball.
The cities of Fort Worth and Arlington are working in a partnership to host the National Finals.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said. “It’s the perfect place for the rodeo. Fort Worth being the home of the first indoor rodeo [in 1918 at Cowtown Coliseum] and Arlington having a big entertainment complex, people have everything they need right here.”
The National Finals traditionally features the top 15 in each event on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association circuits.
Since 1985, the world’s top postseason pro rodeo has been conducted at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas.
But this year, officials decided that Las Vegas no longer is a feasible option as a host site because of restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. If the NFR were held in Las Vegas this year, it would have to be a TV only event with no fans.
Globe Life Field seats more than 40,000 fans for Texas Rangers games. But because of the pandemic, sports venues in Texas are allowed up to 50% fan capacity according to Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide order.
Under those guidelines, Globe Life Field would seat about 20,000 for the the NFR with social distancing.
That’s comparable to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas that seats more than 17,000 for a rodeo performance.
“We spent a lot of long nights talking about the structure of the arena and what we would do, it was really exciting as it started to come together on how we could really optimize a baseball field,” PRCA chief executive officer George Taylor said.
Four-time world champion Tuf Cooper, who has homes in Weatherford and Decatur, said he’s elated about the NFR being so close.
“This is where I grew up, this is home,” Cooper said. “To be able to compete for a championship in your home is going to be amazing. I can’t wait for everybody to come experience the things we love about Fort Worth and Arlington.”
Cooper will compete at the WNFR in tie-down roping. He’s currently ranked No. 1 in the PRCA’s 2020 world all-around title race.
“The plan is to win it,” Cooper said. “Every time you nod your head, a cowboy’s plan is to win something. That’s my plan moving forward. So, I get to do it in December right here in the ballpark.”
According to prorodeo.com, tickets will go on sale to the general public Sept. 25, via texasrangers.com/NFR. Wrangler NFR season ticket holders will be invited to purchase tickets starting Sept. 16.
Seats will be sold in groups of four with social distancing between groups. Contact-limiting measures, such as mobile tickets, have been implemented throughout the event.
In a nationwide survey conducted last month by the PRCA and Las Vegas Events, fans overwhelmingly said they want to attend this year’s NFR regardless of location. According to prorodeo.com, the survey received more than 40,000 responses and nearly 80% said they’d travel to the NFR. Also, most fans said they would prefer to watch the event in Texas.
“Our fans told us overwhelmingly that they wanted to have a rodeo that they can participate in,” Taylor said.
The NFR performances will be broadcast live each night on RFD-TV and the Cowboy Channel, which has its studios in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
“One of the reasons that I think that we won the agreement, the new (TV) contract with the PRCA is the new things we wanted to bring to the NFR broadcasts such as the sky cam, the ghost cam and the 360 cam, and 4K broadcasts,” said Patrick Gottsch, the founder of the two networks.
“We’re going to do everything for the NFR that these other channels do for the Super Bowl and for the World Series. We’re going to put everything we’ve got into it. I think people will really see a difference.”
The renowned rodeo is returning to its DFW birthplace for the first time since 1961. The inaugural NFR was held in 1959 at Dallas’ Fair Park Coliseum.
The NFR also was in Dallas in 1960 and 1961.
“It was a big deal then and it’s even a bigger deal now,” Taylor said.
The NFR was in Los Angeles in 1962-1964 and Oklahoma City from 1965-1984. In 1985, it moved to Las Vegas. The rodeo will return to the Nevada city next year after making a trip to Arlington this year amid the pandemic.
“It’s the National Finals Rodeo that sets the new bar for us, which we’ve been raising every year,” Taylor said. “We’re thrilled about it.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 1:28 PM.