Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Cowboy Christmas retail event canceled in December because of pandemic

Cowboy Christmas

Mark Damon/Las Vegas News Bureau

Visitors crown the walkways of Cowboy Christmas in the Las Vegas Convention Center South Halls on Thursday, Dec. 5 2019.

Cowboy Christmas, which brings more than 250,000 shoppers to the Las Vegas Convention Center during the nearly two-week National Finals Rodeo, won’t happen this year because of the pandemic, Las Vegas Events announced today.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is expected to detail plans for this year’s finals rodeo event by Sept. 30. It’s on the books for Dec. 3-12 at the Thomas & Mack Center, where it’s been held every year since 1987.

The Cowboys Association is weighing its options, which include hosting the rodeo in Las Vegas with no fans or with a limited number of fans. It is also considering moving for one year to another city — one where the COVID-19 infections aren’t as significant. Southern Nevada, with nearly 57,000 total cases, is a virus hotspot.

The economic impact of the 10-day event is estimated at $200 million, including the popular Cowboy Christmas, which brings more than 350 Western lifestyle exhibitors to the 440,000-square-foot shopping and interactive experience with live entertainment and specialty food.

Cowboy Christmas isn't the only notable event that has been pulled from the Convention Center calendar. The CES technology show, one of the best-attended shows of the year, will be conducted digitally in January.