Hotels, convention center and indoor arena could follow PRCA to Cheyenne

Now that the PRCA’s move to Cheyenne is official, local leaders are sketching big plans to turn the 416-acre Hitching Post subdivision into a Western “Field of Dreams” for rodeo. That could include hotels, a convention center and an indoor arena.

An agreement making the PRCA’s move official was announced with little public fanfare Friday afternoon, but there’s been lots of excitement behind the scenes about what it means for Cheyenne and the state. The Hitching Post subdivision has 416 acres in all — a huge amount of space to transform into a year-round rodeo economy with Western culture at its heart.

“When I look at this project, I look at it as the opportunity to be what we call a destination-defining development,” Visit Cheyenne President and CEO Jim Walter told Cowboy State Daily. “It will be anchored by the PRCA headquarters and, more importantly, the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy.”

Given that Cheyenne already has several world-class museums, Walter sees the Museum of the American Cowboy adding to that, creating a magnet for Western culture that can draw fans the same way football fans go to Canton, Ohio, and baseball fans go to Cooperstown. Rodeo’s timing doesn’t hurt. Western culture and rodeo have been taking off lately, spurred by media like the TV series “Yellowstone.”

Cheyenne Frontier Days already generates an estimated $45to$50 million in regional economic impact each year. But it’s a 10-day event that comes and goes. With the PRCA coming to town, leaders see a chance to create a year-round destination expected to drive more than $250 million in new activity over the next decade.

“With Wyoming being the epicenter of rodeo — the PRCA, Cheyenne Frontier Days, the Wyoming State Fair in Cody, the Sheridan WYO Rodeo — we’re right here in the crossroads of rodeo,” Walter said. “We’re going to be dead in the middle.”

Cheyenne LEADS has been leading the charge on ideas for the Hitching Post subdivision. “This is what Cheyenne LEADS has always done,” CEO Betsey Hale said. “We build business parks.” But this one will be different. “This will be a business park that’s really about lifestyle amenities,” she said. “It will really celebrate our Western heritage, the Western way of life and the sport of rodeo. And it’ll be a place not just for tourists, but for our community.”

Everything is on the table right now. “We want to have all of the attire — boots, hats, jeans, you name it,” Hale said. “There can be a sculpture garden. Potentially, there could be a bronze-casting facility, a foundry. Other types of museums might be there.” While the development is mixed-use, one thing that won’t be in the Hitching Post subdivision is housing. “We want to make sure that housing goes into the downtown,” Hale said. There will also be no casinos, data centers, wind, solar or fireworks stands. Those bans will be written into restrictive covenants.

A steering committee will oversee architecture and design for the PRCA’s new facility. It could begin meeting as soon as this week. PRCA Chief Marketing Officer Paul Woody said the target date for the new facility is still 2029, with dirt moving next spring.

One big question: will all the statues from Colorado come to Wyoming? The PRCA has nearly 50 years of history in its present location. “There’s a lot of massive artwork and bronzes and all the collections, and they will all make the journey,” Woody said. “We’re not going to leave anything behind.” That includes the gigantic 27-foot-tall statue of Casey Tibbs, the PRCA’s most iconic piece. The collection contains thousands of Western artifacts, including saddles, buckles, chaps, shirts, hats, boots, spurs and artwork — all headed to Cheyenne. That includes the oldest items from the 1890s in the Hafley-Shelton collection, down to tiny seed beads.