Keeping rodeo in Edmonton right move for Northlands, president says

Keeping the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton through 2018 was the right interim move for Edmonton Northlands as it plans its long-term future, says Northlands president Tim Reid.

Officials with Northlands and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association confirmed Wednesday that the rodeo will be held at Northlands Coliseum through 2018, scuttling a previously announced deal to move the annual event to Saskatoon.

"I think as Albertans this is a real win for us, I think it's a win for our city, and I think for Northlands it's a win," Reid told reporters after a news conference for this year's CFR, Farm Fair International and Rodeo Week.

"Certainly I feel for Saskatoon, but I also believe that CPRA made the right decision, and it doesn't mean that this conversation can't happen in the future with Saskatoon," Reid said.

"I just think that right now we needed some stability, and what we do know is that CFR and Farm Fair partner well, and it's been successful for 43 years, and now is not the time to step away from those things."

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Dinner meeting started discussion

Reid said he was approached in late summer by Jeff Robson, a former general managerof the rodeo association who was working as an adviser to thegroup.

They met for dinner and started a conversation about the possibility of keeping the event in Edmonton.

"We talked over the next four to six weeks, and it came together relatively quickly afterwards," Reid said. "We saw an opportunity to renew this partnership and program the Coliseum for a couple more years."

Robson, who wasn't involved in the nixed memorandum of understanding with Saskatoon, said he was asked by the rodeo association directors in the summer to lead some new negotiations to help them determine where the CFR should be held. He consulted stakeholders and had "a really frank conversation" with Reid, he said.

While the rodeo association board was originally split over leaving Edmonton, once reconfigured, the decision to pull out of the memorandum of understanding with Saskatoon was unanimous.

Robson said moving such a large-scale event out of town is "not a decision you make overnight."

The deal is a good fit with Northlands' Vision 2020 plan for its future, Reid said. The organization is planning how it will adapt to losing the Oilers, Oil Kings, many concerts and other events to the new downtown arena, Rogers Place.

"By programming CFR back into the Northlands Coliseum it gives us some flexibility and revenue," Reidsaid

"But most importantly, it's a great economic driver for our city. It's a good fit as an interim [measure] until we see some clarity on what happens in the future."

$50 million economic impact

Northlands' annual revenue from the CFR is enough to cover annual operating costs for the Coliseum, he said. He added that the annual economic impact of CFR, Farm Fair International and Rodeo Week to Edmonton is about $50 million.

"We have an obligation under our master lease agreement with the City of Edmonton to program our facilities to celebrate agriculture, conferences, conventions, trade and events," Reid said.

"I think this encompasses all of it. In a lot of ways, we believe that Farm Fair International and CFR go together as well as anything that possibly could. And this was a consistent product for us, that the city had responded well to, and I think Albertans had.

"And so I think it buys us the time for the city to do their due diligence, which they've suggested they have, but it also leaves us some flexibility that if there is a better city-wide discussion to be had, we're certainly open to it at any time."

Robson didn't rule out the rodeo re-locating in Edmonton after 2018.

"There are other buildings around," he said.

Robson said the rodeo association has spoken with the Oilers Entertainment Group, which operates Rogers Place.

"We just have to continue to look at all opportunities," he said.