Lawmakers recommend $15 M to woo rodeo organization to move headquarters to Cheyenne

Cody also vying to be new PRCA home

POWELL — Gov. Mark Gordon, some state lawmakers and others are trying to entice the world’s largest rodeo organization to move its headquarters from Colorado Springs to Cheyenne. 

However, local officials are hoping the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the associated ProRodeo Hall of Fame will also consider relocating to Cody.

“It could be a game-changer,” said Mike Darby, the co-owner of Cody’s Irma Hotel and member of the Park County Travel Council. 

Darby said Cody boosters have met with PRCA CEO Tom Glause several times to pitch him on the self-proclaimed “Rodeo Capital of the World.” 

However, the PRCA has not committed to moving anywhere, and Cody could face an uphill battle, as the economic development organization Cheyenne LEADS has reportedly been working to woo the PRCA since last spring. 

The Cheyenne group has also reportedly pledged $15 million to help facilitate the PRCA’s move to the capital city, and the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee recommended last week that the state chip in another $15 million to aid the effort; the state’s contribution would be drawn from lodging tax collections, which must be used on tourism-related projects. 

Gordon encouraged the appropriations committee to endorse the state funding in a Jan. 7 letter, writing that, “It would be an incredible honor for Wyoming to add to our western traditions, be the home base for the organization, and create additional opportunities for young people to turn their passions into in-state careers.” 

Appropriations committee member Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, said Wednesday that landing the PRCA would bring “85 good, high-paying jobs” to Wyoming from Colorado. 

Driskill said he believes that Glause “and a lot of cowboys think that the Cowboy State [Wyoming] represents the image of the PRCA better than a lot of other places,” but warned that multiple states and communities are vying to recruit the organization. 

“If you don’t help bring the business here, I can assure you it won’t be domiciled here,” Driskill told his colleagues. “It will be somewhere else.” 

Not everyone excited

There was some reluctance among the appropriations committee members about funding the project, with a couple lawmakers questioning if Cheyenne was the right location and indicating the request caught them off-guard. 

“... Other [Wyoming] communities are starting to hear about this and feeling like this was all backroom deals done in the shadows,” said Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan. 

The day of the committee hearing, state Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, penned a Facebook post that questioned “the lack of transparency” by the group that developed the $15 million proposal. She didn’t take an explicit stance on the state funding, but mentioned she has “often voted against corporate welfare.” 

"Cody’s western culture surpasses the Capitol City,” Rodriguez-Williams said in a follow-up email to the Tribune. “[Its] authenticity creates the perfect location for the free market to thrive, especially businesses that serve rodeo and Western trades.” 

The JAC ultimately voted to include the $15 million in the draft budget, with state Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, among the ayes.

“I’m not real excited,” Laursen said in a Friday interview, “but we need to do things for the state, and that’s one big thing. Rodeo’s big here in Wyoming.” 

He suggested that Cody, with its nightly rodeos all throughout the summer, could be a better location than Cheyenne, but said that decision should be left up to the PRCA. 

In a Saturday text message, Cody Mayor Lee Ann Reiter said her understanding is that “we’re very early in these efforts.” 

“We’re working to understand how Cody — the ‘Rodeo Capital of the World’ can fit into this effort to help get the [Hall of Fame] to the Cowboy State,” Reiter said. 

If the PRCA is moving, the mayor said the top priority should be ensuring that the organization relocates to Wyoming. 

A ‘jewel’ for Cody

Based on his conversations with Glause, Darby said he got the impression that the PRCA leader wants to put the organization in Cheyenne; however, Darby believes some of the organization’s board members are interested in exploring alternatives. 

At Thursday’s Travel Council meeting, he noted some of what Cody has to offer. There’s plenty of space near the Cody Stampede Rodeo ground to host the PRCA’s offices and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy, he said — and roughly a million visitors drive past the location every year on the way to Yellowstone National Park. 

He said the PRCA’s facilities would be “a jewel in the crown” in Cody. 

The Buffalo Bill Center of West has leant its support to recruiting the PRCA, Darby said, along with representatives of the City of Cody, the Cody Stampede Board and Park County. 

The Travel Council informally signaled its support on Thursday, with members indicating they would likely be willing to commit a few thousand dollars to help cover some of the costs of pitching the PRCA on Cody. 

“There couldn’t be a more perfect fit for what we do,” Council Chair John Parsons said of the endeavor. 

Council member Jake Ivanoff added, “there’s even a huge upside to this if we’re just in the conversation — coming to the table and being able to show up.” 

However, Ivanoff said he ultimately hopes the PRCA chooses Cody.

No decisions yet

It’s unclear when the PRCA will make a decision. 

The organization’s chief marketing officer, Paul Woody, told The Fence Post in November that a move to Wyoming would be “exciting,” because its business climate is more conducive to growth than Colorado’s. 

However, Woody told the Tribune on Friday that the PRCA “has not held any votes or any additional progress on moving” its headquarters. 

“At this time, we are still exploring opportunities that will benefit the membership and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame,” Woody wrote in an email. 

Meanwhile, Wyoming lawmakers won’t officially start debating the state’s potential $15 million contribution until Feb. 12, when the draft budget is set to be presented to the full body.

This story was published on Jan. 20, 2026.