National Finals Rodeo 2020 Moves To Globe Life Field In Arlington
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - This year's National Finals Rodeo is moving to the Lone Star State.
Officials announced Wednesday the Wrangler NFR 2020 will be held at Globe Life Field in Arlington in December. which is the first major non-baseball event at the Texas Rangers' new home.
"We are so pleased to be at this amazing stadium for the most celebrated event on the rodeo calendar," said George Taylor, chief executive officer of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). "We are committed to delivering a spectacular event for our fans and we are thrilled to be in Texas for it."
The annual event has taken place in Las Vegas since 1985. However, officials said the NFR was moved due to the original venue not being available to host events because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Texas' willingness to allow stadiums to have fans in the seats helped lure the event away from Vegas and to Arlington.
Official announcement in the next few minutes that the @LasVegasNFR is leaving for Arlington, TX, for at least this year pic.twitter.com/3eir8p66PE
— Jason Allen (@CBS11JasonAllen) September 9, 2020
According to officials, seats for the NFR will be sold in groups of four with separation between those groups. There will be numerous health and safety protocols to abide by COVID-19 guidelines, such as a face mask requirement, sanitation stations and contact-limiting measures.
"From cattle drives, museums and even the names of our professional sporting teams, our love of cowboy culture runs deep here in Tarrant County," Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams said. "I can think of no better choice for the Super Bowl of rodeo than to be hosted here in the heart of North Texas. Arlington and Fort Worth have so many family friendly attractions and rich experiences to offer rodeo fans who will be traveling from across the country to cheer on these professional cowboys as they strive to set new records and achieve their American Dream in the arena."
The Wrangler NFR 2020 will be held from Dec. 3 to Dec. 12. Tickets go on sale starting Sept. 25 and can be bought on the Texas Rangers website.
Officials also said the PRCA convention will be held in Fort Worth from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3. Other events in Fort Worth include Cowboys Christmas, junior world nationals and gala-type events. The Fort Worth Sports Commission is working with the PRCA on venues for these events.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price believes the move to North Texas should be a permanent one.
"I think this needs to be permanent. They've got a year or two, that's my understanding on their contract in Vegas. And when that comes up, we intend to full well bid for it and get them back here. They started in Texas, why not get them back?" Price said.