For the first time in its 78-year history, the American Business Club Pro Rodeo will be hosted outside Lubbock this spring. From April 2 through April 4, the 2020 ABC Pro Rodeo will convene its festivities in the Mallet Event Center in Levelland and will likely be forced to do so again in spring 2021.
Leslie Cox, chairman of the ABC rodeo committee, said that although the Mallet Center has a lower seat capacity than the rodeo’s former home, the now-demolished Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, this constraint has provided opportunities to think outside the box to resolve the revenue discrepancy.
“We’ve had to rethink how to pretty much handle everything,” Cox said. “Everything from hotel occupancy to the logistics of traveling between Levelland and our homes in Lubbock presents challenges and opportunities.”
Despite the arena’s reduced capacity, the overall size of the venue is larger than previous years, she said. This will benefit individuals hauling large animal trailers and vendors who will have the opportunity to set up shop at the rodeo for the first time ever.
Beginning April 1 and continuing through the rodeo’s final day, April 4, retailers will be permitted to set up shop at the venue and sell their goods to rodeo patrons. Cox said this new opportunity for merchants will most likely continue once the Lubbock County Expo Arena is constructed.
“We’re going to have a vendor show that we’ve never done before,” Cox said. “We’re going to have that open for Wednesday through Saturday along with our rodeo.”
Cox emphasized that all other traditions and routines of the annual ABC Rodeo will continue as normal despite the change in venue next year. However, the scope of the festivities may expand over time once the transition into the new arena is made, she said.
Preserving the event’s heritage and the audience’s familiarity was crucial to the rodeo committee’s plan-of-action, she said. Law enforcement officers will carry in the flags as usual during the playing of the national anthem along with the horseback flag run ceremony that precedes the rodeo’s commencement.
“WELCOME TO THE MOST EXCITING GROUP IN LUBBOCK, TX. FOR 78 YEARS THE MEMBERS OF THE LUBBOCK DOWNTOWN CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN BUSINESS CLUBS HAVE SUPPORTED AND IMPROVED THE LIVES IN OUR COMMUNITY BY WORKING TO PRODUCE SOME OF THE GREATEST WESTERN SPORTING EVENTS IN THE COUNTRY!”– Excerpt from the ABC Pro Rodeo website
The Lubbock chapter of The American Business Clubs dedicates a portion of its profits to committing financial support for The Boys and Girls Club of Lubbock and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Cox said.
“Selfishly, as far as the ABC Rodeo goes, it would have been nice to hang on to (the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum) until a new facility was built,” Cox said. “But unfortunately, (the city) did not ask for our input.”
One-hundred and twenty-five acres of land located off North University and Loop 289 is being considered for the Expo Center’s construction site, Randy Jordan, Market President for Western Bank and Chairman of the LCEC, Inc. board, said.
Aerial mock up of proposed Expo Center. Courtesy of Randy Jordan.
The Expo Center’s proposed site was chosen out of 18 possible locations, Jordan said. Visibility, accessibility and affordability were three major components factored into the committee’s decision-making process when vetting the proposed sites.
Aerial mock up of proposed Expo Center. Courtesy of Randy Jordan.
“We looked everywhere to find attractive land large enough to do what we want to do,” Jordan said. “It needs to be eighty to a hundred acres, so that narrows (the options) down a lot. But really, if you’re not careful, you can land lock yourself in and so we plan on avoiding that at this location.”
On Nov. 6, 2018, ballot measure known as Proposition A was approved by Lubbock voters which authorized the county to implement a 5 percent rental car tax while also increasing the hotel and motel tax percentage from thirteen to fifteen percent to create the revenue needed to initiate the project. Jordan clarified nothing has caused any delays to the Expo Center’s construction and said it will simply take time to allow the necessary funds to flow in from the taxes.
Negotiations for an agreement between Lubbock County and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce are ongoing, Jordan said. This agreement will dictate to what extent LCC is involved in the Expo Center’s construction and how many funds need to be generated by the private sector to make up the difference between and the tax revenue from Proposition A and the project’s total budget.
The approximate total budget for the arena’s design and construction is around $50 million. Jordan said this is a conservative estimate that may be adjusted over time.
“We said early on that this is probably going to be about a six-thousand seat permanent dirt floor arena,” he said. “The dirt floor can be converted however we need to. It’s not going to be a concrete floor where you have to haul dirt in and out.”
In contrast, Cox said the Mallet Event Center only contains around 2000 seats. By comparison, the arena and the exhibition hall of the Lubbock County Expo Center be able to roughly contain the same amount of people as the 6893-seat Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.
Although a slow and steady process, Jordan said any notion that the initiative was being abandoned is bogus. Now that the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum is demolished, there are no plans to back out of the endeavor.
“This is not a brand new subject,” Jordan said. “An Expo Center, a facility that would be able to handle some of the stuff that we’re talking about, has been talked about for years. If this venture is a high wire act, then the Coliseum was our net. You weren’t going to get a whole lot of people jumping at doing something like that until that Coliseum was gone.”
An entrance to the proposed Expo Center. Courtesy of Randy Jordan.
Additionally, Steve Massengale, District 4 City Council Member, said the prospect of economic growth focused towards North Lubbock factors into the Expo Center’s development progress. In contrast to Lubbock’s southward expansion, the north side of town is comparatively barren.
“If the Expo Center is built in North Lubbock, I would say it would have a positive impact and would create many other opportunities for growth,” Massengale said. “I think coupled with the expansion and improvements at the (Berl Huffman Athletic Complex), that will bring more hotels and dining and I would think you’d see some retail follow that.”
Despite its prominence, Massengale said the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum was a facility that outlived its usefulness. Staggering annual maintenance costs made prolonging the structure’s lifespan financially unfeasible.
Massengale expressed gratitude to Lubbock residents for approving Proposition A in May 2018. West Texas localities have long been committed to supporting the activities and events the Expo Center will bring, he said.
While it cannot come soon enough, Massengale said the Expo Center will be well worth the wait once completed. In the meantime, the Mallet Event Center will serve as an adequate alternate home for the ABC Rodeo.
“I think (the coliseum’s demolition) should have been done sooner,” Massengale said. “I’m grateful that the voters approved the decision to allow it to revert back to Texas Tech, and I’m glad that Texas Tech has already torn it down. It’s certainly changed the landscape on the campus.”
About Reece Nations, Managing Editor
