National Finals Rodeo Attendance Hits 168,952 For 10-Day Run

December 17, 2017December 17, 2017 Alan Snel Boyd Polhamus, Shawn Davis

By ALAN SNEL

Attendance for National Finals Rodeo at Thomas & Mack Center neared 170,000 for its 10-day run.

The official number was 168,952 for the 10 consecutive sellouts for the Super Bowl of rodeos.

The NFR is a major economic jolt for Las Vegas in December. Photo credit: Tom Donoghue

It’s a vital shot in the economic arm for the Strip, and other hotel-casinos from The D to South Point during a slower time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Opening night check ceremony. Photo credit: Tom Donoghue

The Dec. 7-16 NFR also brings hundreds of vendors to places including the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Point and Mandalay Bay.

The NFR brings 120 contestants vying for $10 million in prize money. Photo credit: Tom Donoghue

There were also 56 concerts and 37 locations that offered the NFR live feed.

LVSportsBiz.com also reported on big news during the NFR, such as the transfer of the rodeo’s general manager reins from Shawn Davis to Boyd Polhamus.

There will be a new general manager one day at the NFR. Photo credit: Erik John Ricardo/LVSportsBiz.com

Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contact LVSportsBiz.com founder/writer Alan Snel at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

July 5, 2021

LVSPORTSBIZ.COM, launched June 2017: We are a digital magazine providing market-leading news, intelligence, enterprise and breaking info on Las Vegas’ sports/stadium industry. Our stories are quoted nationally and we set the sportsbiz news agenda in Las Vegas. Publisher Alan Snel has reported on the business of sports and stadiums in Denver, South Florida, Seattle and Tampa besides Las Vegas and is considered a national authority on the topic.

ADVERTISEMENT: Please shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo at the Koval Lane intersection east of the Strip. Jay’s Market is the official presenting sponsor of LVSportBiz.com’s stories.

Hirings and Firings:

Las Vegas Aces President Nikki Fargas said the Aces are not renewing the contract of General Manager Natalie Williams. The Aces hired Williams as the team’s general manager in April 2022.

Vegas Golden Knights said the NHL club has signed defenseman Shea Theodore to a seven-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $7,425,000.

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To contact LVSportsBiz.com Publisher Alan Snel or buy his book, Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys, email him at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

LVSportsBiz number for 2024: $1,178,161,041. That’s the amount of debt Las Vegas (actually, Clark County) owes for its public share of building the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.