EDMONTON – It looks like there won’t be anymore steer wrestling or bronc riding in Edmonton.
A deadline to bid for a 10-year contract to hold the Canadian Finals Rodeo has come and gone.
That means the national championship this November is likely to be the last in the city after 43 years.
City council and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association had been wrangling for months over ticket costs, prize purses and corporate sponsorships.
Mayor Don Iveson says it was all about risk and reward.
A 10-day, western-themed festival is being planned instead.
“To expect the city to take promoter risk, but to also not get the upside if the event is successful is just not fair and not an acceptable risk to the taxpayers of Edmonton,” Iveson said.
He suggested the 10-day Farm Fair, which has run in conjunction with the rodeo, “is actually the thing that we really need to protect.”
Iveson said the fair brings $20 million in economic activity to the city.
The Canadian Finals Rodeo, which offers one of the richest purses in Canada, takes place at Edmonton’s Rexall Place Nov. 9-13.
(CHED, The Canadian Press)
