Red Deer’s agricultural society is vying to become the new home for the Canadian Finals Rodeo, arguing it’s the best spot for the massive event that might be leaving Edmonton.
Westerner Park chief executive officer Ben Antifaiff announced last week that the organization formally submitted a proposal to bring in the rodeo for next November.
He said the event would be held over a six- or seven-day period and would occur one week before Agri-Trade, a farm equipment show.
“Having it a week prior to Agri-Trade allows us to preserve and not disrupt that show,” Antifaiff said.
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“Plus, having 10 or 11 days of continuous agriculture-related programming is a really good thing. As an ag society, we’re well equipped to host the CFR.”
Ever since the City of Edmonton decided to close the Northlands Coliseum and take over the Northlands site earlier this year, CFR organizers have been trying to figure out where the rodeo should go.
They can’t guarantee the major event will stay in Edmonton, so they’re open to other cities.
“Westerner Park has a good proposal,” said Jeff Robson, an adviser with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association, which works with organizations to determine where rodeos are held.
“It checks a lot of boxes for us.”
While the CFR’s move could be good for Red Deer, the City of Edmonton and Northlands have been fairly silent on the issue.
Though Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson has said he wants Northlands to revive its agricultural roots, he has largely left the fate of the CFR in the hands of the Oilers Entertainment Group. Both the Oilers group and rodeo organizers have had informal discussions about potentially bringing the event to Rogers Place.
Northlands declined to comment for this story.
That said, both the City of Edmonton and Northlands are committed to keeping Farmfair in Edmonton for at least five years. After that, they will have to renegotiate to keep the event there for another five years.
Many farmers and ranchers are upset the CFR could be leaving Edmonton. They have argued Farmfair wouldn’t be the same without it, and that the rodeo brings more people through the doors.
Gordon Graves, a rancher in northern Alberta, said he would be less inclined to come to Red Deer for the CFR because Agri-Trade doesn’t deal much with livestock.
