By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Back in the day, early December was a quiet time in Las Vegas. The hotel occupancy rates dropped between Thanksgiving and Christmas and hotel-casino owners and tourism boosters looked for ways to goose tourists to visit Sin City.
Then, Las Vegas and its tourism agency found just the right visitor — the cowboy.
Las Vegas’ tourism officials worked a deal with the country’s biggest rodeo-sanctioning outfit in the United States to bring the Super Bowl of rodeos to Southern Nevada 35 years ago. It was an ideal marriage between Las Vegas and America’s best cowboys (no, not the Dallas Cowboys; these cowboys are the real ones).
Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will hand over a giant check for $10 million to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the prize money of $10 million will be doled out to the contestants in the various rodeo event categories that are staged nightly at Thomas & Mack Center Thursday to Dec. 14. The PRCA’s top 15 money-winners in each event compete for the titles and buckles.
The NFR is big money. The Las Vegas Events, the LVCVA’s non-profit events and promoter arm, says the estimated economic impact of NFR is 2018 was $187.5 million. The number of visitors with tickets to the nightly NFR event totaled 64,475 in 2018, but those were the ones only with tickets. There are thousands of other NFR fans who attend watch parties, but never get into Thomas & Mack Center for the actual competition event.
The weekend occupancy during NFR’s December visit was 91.7 percent for the first weekend in 2018, which ranked 46th out of the year, while the second weekend’s occupancy rate was 89.6 percent, or 47th out of 52 weeks, according to Las Vegas Events.
It’s more than pro rodeo cowboys riding horses. The nation’s “Western Lifestyle” descends on Las Vegas for two weeks, meaning country music shows, NFR watch parties and retail exhibitors hawking cowboy hats, boots and belt buckles are everywhere from South Point to the Las Vegas Convention Center to the Mirage.
“Las Vegas and NFR were made for each other,” former PRCA commissioner Karl Stressman told LVSportsBiz.com Monday. Stressman, who helped negotiate a 10-year NFR deal with Las Vegas Events that expires in 2024, retired as commissioner two years ago and said he doesn’t plan to attend NFR this year.
About 17,000 rodeo fans will pack Thomas & Mack nightly. The show moves along with the precision of a Swiss watch. It starts at 6:45 p.m. nightly and it’s about 90 minutes long, with the contestants competing in rapid-fire fashion throughout the evening.
Take a look at how far the NFR has come in 35 years.
Sure there will be a colorful start with music and quick-witted rodeo announcing, but this is no Vegas Golden Knights show on the Strip with a hockey game in the middle. The nightly rodeo moves along quickly through the seven event categories of competition.
Rodeos are about traditions and Wrangler jeans. There won’t be Blue Man Group shooting string during the steer roping, barrel racing or bronc riding competitions.
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