Lancaster Event Center prepping for 30,000 visitors ahead of National High School Finals Rodeo

Temporary horse stalls at the Lancaster Event Center wait competitors for the National High School Finals Rodeo from July 18-24.

The new grandstand at the Lancaster Event Center awaits 1,700 competitors and their families who will converge on Lincoln on July 18-24 for the National High School Finals Rodeo.

A new campground has been built at the Lancaster Event Center for some of the 1,700 competitors and their families who will converge on Lincoln on July 18-24 for the National High School Finals Rodeo.

Andrew Wegley

THE Farrington family live and breathe all things rodeo. Kassie and husband Randy spend most weekends taking their son “the real cowboy” Kutter (7) to rodeos across the state and beyond, where he competes professionally in a variety of events. So far he has taken part in well over 50 rodeos collecting an array of prizes along the way. Despite the dangers of the sport, the thrill of the competition and cash prizes he can win is a trade off for the risks he takes. Kassie once took a loan out on her car to afford for Kutter to compete: “We drove six hours away for Kutter to rodeo. I put my trust in God and it paid off big time. Does it always pay off? No, but that time it did he won over $2,000 in cash.” Even though still a child, Kutter is well respected in the rodeo community and earns extra money training other people’s horses and ponies for them. Kassie and Randy have made huge sacrifices, which not everyone in their families agrees with, but they’re determined to keep supporting Kutter so he can follow his dreams. Kassie explained: “They tell us that we’re irresponsible, that we make him do this or that we should pay this bill, that bill, we should spend our money differently. In all reality, if you’re not feeding us or paying our bills, or whatever, then it’s not none of your business.” The next rodeo is fast approaching and today Kutter will be hitting the practising pit with father Randy to ride some new calves. Social: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealcowboykutter? https://www.facebook.com/The-Real-Cowboy-Kutter-102475131139242/?ref=page_internal

It was a year ago this week when the Lancaster Event Center got the news it hoped to avoid at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: the National High School Finals Rodeo would not come to Lincoln in 2020.

Twelve months later, staff at the fairgrounds are working tirelessly to prepare for the rodeo’s delayed arrival. The countdown is on for July 18-24, when 1,700 competitors and their families will converge on Lincoln for the first time.

Hoyt Kraeger, a former National High School Finals Rodeo participant and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, is among those checking off a long to-do list in his role as business development manager for the event center.

As an intern in 2016, Kraeger was among those who helped design the bid that landed the rodeo in Lincoln for the first time. Now, after spending parts of five years working to bring the event to his home state, Kraeger and others want to make certain the city is prepared to welcome more visitors than at any point since the start of the pandemic.

“We’re trying to make sure people aren’t surprised,” he said.

Competitors from 43 states and two foreign countries are set to converge on Lincoln, along with 2,000 vendors and rodeo staff who will begin arriving July 12. The Lancaster Event Center expects 30,000 visitors associated with the event to pass through Lincoln.

Traditionally, the rodeo — billed as the largest in the world — has been staged in smaller communities. With this year’s rodeo at a new, larger location, many expect participants and their families to possibly spend an extra day or two exploring beyond the footprint of the fairgrounds.

Eric Thompson, a professor of economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has estimated that the impact on Lincoln’s economy could approach $16 million — equal to that of four Husker football Saturdays.

Kraeger said event center staffers have been working to ensure businesses are prepared, encouraging owners to extend restaurant hours, schedule extra staff and order increased inventory to welcome the competitors and their families.

The center has contacted numerous business associations and has worked closely with Nebraska Tourism to connect with the more than 900 restaurants in Lincoln. Kraeger said recently hired interns are still working the phones, accelerating the center’s efforts to get the word out.

“We’re trying to do our best to reach out to everyone,” he said. “At this point, there’s no such thing as too much.”

The event center is still accepting vendor applications for both food and merchandise booths at an on-site trade show. And it is still seeking volunteers in an effort headed by Ann Bruntz, the volunteer coordinator for the rodeo.

Bruntz is recruiting area residents, as well as those who plan to travel to Lincoln, to work six- to eight-hour shifts in a variety of roles over nine days, starting with check-in on July 15. Bruntz said she’s seeking up to 700 volunteers to fill shifts in roles ranging from ticket sales to trash pickup.

Since competitors are set to arrive from around the country — some with horses — Bruntz said some volunteer stations, including competitor, RV and horse check-in, will be manned around the clock. Volunteers who work 12 hours or more earn a pair of tickets to rodeo events.

“If you want to work a certain area on a certain day at a certain time, get your name on that slot now,” Bruntz said.

Staff at the event center have been confident since the winter months that the rodeo would go on as scheduled this time around, Kraeger said.

But on May 18, when Lancaster County’s COVID-19 risk dial shifted to the green category, or low-risk, for the first time since its rollout, Kraeger said all potential virus-related hurdles to hosting the rodeo had been cleared.

“If there’s anything the last year has taught us, we can’t guarantee anything,” he said. “But we can say with pretty sure confidence that the likelihood of COVID affecting the National High School Finals is the same as a tornado affecting the National High School Finals.”