Four cities hope to rope the Canadian Finals Rodeo starting next year

The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association has less than 11 months to plan the 45thCanadian Finals Rodeo in a new venue.

Jeff Robson, a representative of the CPRA,confirmed a list ofthree cities and a potential fourth. Two are in Alberta, and two are not, he said.

Edmonton, Red Deer and Saskatoon are all in contention. Robson said it was too early to say anything about the fourth city.

While he said that it would be great tohave a plan before the new year, figuring out where to hold the event is "not a fast, easy decision," though the groupis "definitely narrowing" in on one.

"I feel very confident we're going to see the event happen," hesaid. "Let's see if we can find a longer-term partnership that will work for us and help us with our mission, which is to grow the event."

Coliseum closing

Edmonton council announced in September it will close Northlands Coliseum, the location of the rodeofor 44 years.

• Northlands Coliseum will close permanently at end of this year

When looking for the event's next home, Robson said theCPRAis prioritizing sustainability and longevity, two factors that contributed to its success at Northlands.

Northlands, a non-profit organization, focused on agriculture, he said, noting that holding therodeo in concert with FarmfairInternationalwas important.

Robson said theCPRAwould like to continue holding the event at the beginning of November, and there are ongoing talks with the interested venues to do just that.

"Whether we go one place or another, we want to always have options open," Robson said."We want to have open, transparent talks about the event and what it could mean to different cities."

Wanted: long-term partner

The rodeo is not looking for a venue for only a year or two, Robson said.

The CPRA has expressed interest in keeping the rodeo in Edmonton. The only suitable venue would be Rogers Place, owned by the city but managed by the Katz Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers.

Rogers Place hosted the Professional Bull Riders Global Cupat the same time as the rodeo earlier this month.

"They just came off aPBRevent. We just came off aCFR," Robson said. "We agreed that we would wait and see until the dust settles after those events, what's next collectively for us or not."

There were discussions with the Katz Groupin 2014 about moving the event to the city's new downtown arena before it even opened its doors.

• Katz Group hopes to bring Canadian Finals Rodeo downtown

Smaller city

But in 2016, the CPRA struck a memorandum of understandingwith the City of Saskatoon to move event to the SaskTelCentre for 2017, 2018 and 2019. In the end, the group decided to stay at Northlands for a few more years. Now, that's no longer an option.

• Canadian Rodeo Finals pulled from Saskatoon and staying in Edmonton

He noted the Saskatoon venue is slightly bigger than Westerner Park in Red Deer, which is also interested in taking over the rodeo.

There could be benefits to leaving Edmonton and moving to a smaller city, Robson said.

Westerner Park and the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce is meeting with the CPRA on Nov. 30 to share it's 10-year vision for the event.

• Red Deer venue pitches plan to host Canadian Finals Rodeo for the next 10 years

"When we see what that might look like, it will give us a little more clarity around it," Robson said.

The Centrium, the Red Deer building where the rodeo would be held, has about 8,000 seats, half as many as the Northlands Coliseum.

"Red Deer has a little smaller venue for our fan base. That's one small concern. I don't think it would be a mountain to die on, but it is a smaller concern," Robson said.

As for the potential fourth option, "I think that's a bit early for that one," Robson said."I think everybody's got pros and cons as to which place makes the most sense."

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

@roberta__bell