The Rodeo Grounds Grandstands were built in the mid-1930's.

The World's Oldest Rodeo has been around longer than anyone's memory - 121 years in fact. It was July 4, 1888 when the first "cowboy tournament" was held in Prescott, on an unimproved tract of land, according to the World's Oldest Rodeo history page. And it wasn't even called a "rodeo" in Prescott until 1924.

In 1913, the annual 4th of July event began to be held at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds. It was in the mid-1930's when Prescott's rodeo moved into brand-spankin' new facilities, made possible with the help of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), at the Rodeo Drive address, just off Miller Valley Road. It happened so long ago, that they can't even find the blueprints for the job. In 1937, Prescott celebrated the 50th anniversary of the rodeo with a weeklong gala event.

Fast forward to 2007. A lot of changes have happened, the rodeo has flourished, the steers and broncs are tougher than ever, and the County Fairgrounds have moved out to property in Prescott Valley. But, the rodeo stayed put. And so, last June, Yavapai County and the City of Prescott entered into a complicated land swap agreement that brought the rodeo grounds home to Prescott to stay.

What Prescott received was an invaluable piece of tradition and history and a combined space of nearly 39 acres smack dab in the heart of town. But, part of that package contained facility buildings and a grandstand that is old and in a considerable state of disrepair, full of possible safety hazards.

Let's Create a Master Plan

Administrative Services Mic Fenech explained the situation in full at the Prescott Capital Needs Committee (PCNC) meeting on Wednesday with a PowerPoint presentation titled, "Rodeo Grounds Evaluation and Preparation for Master Plan".

"Council directed Staff to develop a Master Plan for the rodeo grounds this last January," Fenech explained. "This evaluation is the first step in that process, it does start with some process assumptions, and we'll provide you a background on the use and repair maintenance responsibilities that identifies the areas of concern, it suggests a course of action and outlines potential costs for the committee's consideration and asks you to take a look at some of the long term needs of the rodeo."

Fenech began his presentation by stating, "Locally, Prescott's "World's Oldest Rodeo" is a valuable asset that helps define Prescott, the Community, and the Neighborhood. Nationally, it is one of Prescott's Legacies to Western Culture." He also noted that currently the Rodeo Grounds appear to be "under-utilized", sitting vacant for much of the year.

But before a Master Plan can be done properly, the condition of the grandstands must be evaluated, Fenech said. "We evaluated the grandstands - we felt that really, most folks when they come to the rodeo, they define their experience by the grandstands. We knew we'd have to take a look at that, and see what kind of remediation was necessary, and what shape it was in."

Two possibilities will need to be considered: keep the historic, nostalgic grandstands and perform the necessary repairs, or build new ones, that could be designed to efficiently be used by a variety of user groups? Fenech discussed the dilemma, "If the structure itself is sound, okay, it was built in 1933-34, if the structure is sound, then it really becomes a matter of we need to fix some inherent problems that are in it right now. If the structure is not sound, if we get a structural engineer that tells us this facility, you may have five years, or you need to think about replacing it now, then that really changes the whole focus of the Master Plan process, because then we have to decide, "Well, the structure's not sound," we have to decide what we're going to do in terms of user groups... there's a plethora of user groups in the community that may want to have a hand in the Master Plan, where it's going to be located, chances are we'll not locate it where the current one is on the property, because we'd interrupt the rodeo, or we'd have to move the rodeo. So, we made some assumptions that we needed to find out first what the condition of the grandstands were."

The Current Evaluation 

The initial evaluation was thorough and included:

• Mic Fenech, Administrative Services Director
• Ted Hanneman, Facilities Superintendent
• Sheri Swain, Risk Manager
• Eric Kriwer, Prescott Fire Department
• Michael Baker, Chief Building Official
• Duane Donovan, Code Enforcement Officer
• Tim Legler, Field Operations Superintendent
• Greg Toth, Civil Drainage Engineer
• Craid Dotseth, Utilities Manager

Frankly, the news about the condition of the grandstands is not encouraging. Eroded concrete, structural issues, lack of step uniformity and open, exposed electrical wiring are all items that the evaluation team noted. There are several items that do not meet state or federal regulations, water drainage is a problem and the existing water services do not have backflow prevention assemblies. And, there could be problems that are yet unknown, such as lead paint and asbestos.

Fenech was asked by a committee member if the structure should just be bulldozed and rebuilt. Fenech said it all depends on the report by the structural engineer, which is yet to come. He pointed to the tradition and historical aspects of the grandstands, and suggested that if the basic structure is sound, why shouldn't it be repaired and restored?

Currently, the initial remediation costs for the Rodeo Grounds are estimated at $4,000,705 - $4,389,705. This includes:

Studies (Structural, Blueprints, Hazardous Materials, Electrical Engineering, "Green") $ 39,000 - $ 80,000
Utility Infrastructure (Water main, fire hydrants, drainage, roads, etc.) $ 607,981 - $ 627,981
Remediation (electrical, roof, concrete, restrooms, concessions) $1,520,000 - $1,840,000
Presentation (monuments, security, landscaping) $ 595,000 - $ 595,000
Miscellaneous (permits, design fees, building & parking lot improvements, contingency) $1,246,724 - $1,246,724
Grand total $4,008,705 - $4,389,705

But, this amount depends on whether or not the grandstands are structurally safe. If the structural engineer finds that they are not, then everything changes as the City of Prescott will need to completely rebuild from scratch.

Is it worth it? Fenech pointed out that in addition to the historical legacy the rodeo brings, it has a huge economic impact on the City of Prescott, bringing in an estimated $5.7 to $13.5 million annually. And in 2013 - only a few years away, the World's Oldest Rodeo will celebrate it's 125th Birthday.

Last summer, Yavapai County handed the keys to the Rodeo Grounds over to the City of Prescott.

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