PRCA Wants to Come to Wyoming – but Some Conservatives Aren’t Buying the $15M Welcome Party

The original story by Mead Gruver for AP.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is basically packed and ready to move its headquarters out of Colorado Springs and into Wyoming – Cheyenne, to be specific – but the deal isn’t sealed yet. There’s a snag: a chunk of Wyoming Republicans don’t love the idea of the state cutting a $15 million check to lure a private group, even one with a bucking-horse logo.

Cheyenne won the PRCA board’s “seriously consider” nod last week, beating out Cody. The prize isn’t just a headquarters – the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and the Museum of the American Cowboy would also go with it. For a rodeo-heavy state that throws the Cheyenne Frontier Days bash every July (the city swells with more than 100,000 visitors and leans on some 3,000 volunteers), the fit seems natural. Governor Mark Gordon is on board:

“Rodeo has been a part of Wyoming since before we were a state. It is in our DNA,” he said.

Cheyenne’s pitch includes a $15 million match from Cheyenne LEADS, so the state money would be paired with local backing. Supporters point to big-dollar return-on-investment claims – Cheyenne LEADS estimates the PRCA would bring roughly $253 million to Wyoming over ten years – and argue the move would be a long-term win for tourism and jobs.

But not everyone’s thrilled. The Freedom Caucus – a powerful bloc in the Wyoming House – is throwing cold water on the idea of public cash for private groups. Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, chair of that caucus and a Cody lawmaker who watched her hometown lose out, blasted the pitch as a taxpayer handout in a blunt text: she said Wyoming should welcome the PRCA “the cowboy way – on their own dime,” calling corporate handouts a form of blackmail.

Rep. Scott Heiner, another conservative who says he loves rodeo, echoed that sentiment: happy to see the PRCA in Wyoming, but uneasy about the state “picking winners and losers” with taxpayer dollars. The Freedom Caucus has also pushed for cuts to the Wyoming Business Council, and lawmakers aligned with it are eyeing big spending trims in the next budget – so $15 million could be a tough sell.

On the other side, Cheyenne’s boosters and the PRCA argue the organization won’t just show up for a party and leave – they’re talking long-term operations and community integration.

“It’s not a short-term decision. It’s where we need to be in 50 years,” Paul Woody, the PRCA’s chief marketing officer, said, and Cheyenne leaders say the local match shows the city’s serious.

Rachelle Zimmerman of Cheyenne LEADS called it the “perfect project” and said most folks in Wyoming support it.

Colorado Springs hasn’t given up: city officials say they made their pitch and are ready to renovate and promote the hall of fame if the PRCA stays. But Cheyenne’s leverage is clear – the Frontier Days draw and Wyoming’s rodeo reputation give the state some natural clout.

There are still steps to go. The PRCA move would need state approval to tap the cash, and conservative lawmakers could derail the incentive when they debate the budget. If enough of the Freedom Caucus holds firm, that $15 million – and the deal – could be in trouble.

Whether the PRCA lands in Cheyenne is now part rodeo, part politics. If lawmakers sign off, it could be a big economic trophy for Wyoming. If not, the association may have to rethink how cowboy-friendly the state really is.