Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

EDITORIAL:

Return of the rodeo brings sense of normalcy back to holiday season

NFR Final Night

Sam Morris / Las Vegas News Bureau

A young fan cheers on a competitor during the final night of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Dec. 14, 2019, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

To the competitors and fans in town for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, here’s a warm welcome back to Las Vegas.

You folks are a sight for sore eyes.

When COVID-19 safety restrictions in Las Vegas made it impossible to hold the NFR in Las Vegas last year, it was one of many dark moments for our community during the pandemic. Then, when it was announced that the 2020 edition of the event would be staged in Arlington, Texas, the move only compounded our anxiety.

The NFR isn’t just some event on a calendar for us. It’s become a point of community pride, and it holds a special place in our history. We’re protective of it, which is why it was unsettling to see it move to Texas, even if only for one year.

But as has been the case ever since the NFR first moved to Las Vegas in 1985, a cohort of dedicated local leaders corralled the event and locked it down tight. As part of the negotiations that led to the one-year relocation to Texas, local organizers reached terms with the National Finals Rodeo Committee, which oversees the rodeo, on a one-year extension of the existing agreement. The rodeo will remain here through 2025 as a result.

Here’s a tip of the hat to the Las Vegas leaders involved in these talks. Following in the footsteps of such icons as Benny Binion and events visionary Herb McDonald, who helped lure the rodeo to Las Vegas from Oklahoma City in the mid-1980s, these leaders have done a tremendous service for our community in keeping the NFR right where it belongs.

That may sound a bit arrogant on our part, but we’re only repeating what Allen Rheinheimer, general manager of the NFR, told Sun staff writer Bryan Horwath for a story about the return of the event to Southern Nevada.

​​“Everyone is excited to be back in Las Vegas — from competitors to spectators, staff, contractors and everyone else,” Rheinheimer said. “There’s no town like Las Vegas to host this event.”

Indeed, no city in the world outdoes Las Vegas in showing visitors a good time, and we go wall-to-wall every year for the NFR. This year’s event features 25 resort partners and more than 200 related events, including watch parties, autographing sessions, rodeo competitions, the annual Cowboy Christmas market, and 65 concerts featuring some of the biggest names in country music.

And as was the case last year, safety is our top priority — so much so that we shut down the NFR and other large-capacity events last year rather than risk our visitors’ health. Safety precautions will be in effect this year, including a masking requirement at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“Nobody can duplicate what Las Vegas has to offer,” Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson told Horwath. “Nobody knows better how to take care of the NFR fans or visitors in general. If we’ve done one thing well, it’s to continue to grow the event outside of the arena.”

The bottom line is that Las Vegas knows the value of the event, which is likely to create upwards of $175 million in economic impact this year, and we deeply appreciate those who come to town for it. Years ago, visitorship would fall off drastically during the holiday season every year, and the NFR provided an economic lifeboat during a slow time in tourism. Today, Las Vegas bustles throughout the holidays, but the NFR is now a firmly embedded holiday season tradition too. And for that, we thank everyone who’ll come to town during the 10-day run of the rodeo.

Editor’s note: For more information, including a schedule of concerts and features on the rodeo, visit the Sun’s sister publication Las Vegas Weekly at lasvegasweekly.com. For a full schedule of events, go to nfrexperience.com.