Dozens of black Stetson cowboy hats were sprinkled throughout the audience during the city's board of directors meeting on Jan. 16.
Representatives of the Siloam Springs Riding Club, including reigning Siloam Springs Rodeo Queen Brittney Doshier, were there to show support for relocating the current rodeo grounds on Cheri Whitlock Drive to land south of Siloam Springs on Arkansas Highway 59.
To note, Highway 204 became Cheri Whitlock Drive after Whitlock finished runner-up in Miss Rodeo USA competition in 1971.
Siloam Springs Community Development Director Don Clark said the total cost estimate for the project is nearly $1.4 million, which exceeds the $800,000 budget directors had approved for the project, after another $100,000 was added for arena lighting.
"We did delete a lot of things out of this to get it to a more manageable number," Clark said. "It's not the Taj Mahal. It's pretty basic with things like windows that are residential grade, not commercial.
"This is not really relocating, it's rebuilding. The only thing we can move from the old arena grounds is the dirt in the arena."
Clark explained that since the property was purchased in 2013, it has been discovered that existing dirt "was not suitable" and that more "fill dirt" than expected would be needed for the foundation of the project. That was a major reason for the higher-than-budgeted estimate.
Another is because city staff had hoped to move bleachers from Glenn Black Stadium to use at the new rodeo grounds, but contractors Clark spoke with said moving the bleachers "is not feasible" because of multiple concerns and even liability issues.
The city gave the club a 99-year lease for the rodeo grounds in 1964. At the time, members of the riding club pooled together their money and poured in countless hours of "sweat equity" to build the current rodeo facilities. This year, the 60th Annual Siloam Springs Rodeo is scheduled for June 14-16.
Plans for the new rodeo grounds call for 1,000 seats and the rodeo regularly fills up its current 2,200-seat facility on two of the three nights it hosts the rodeo. Director Amy Smith said the board should find a way to fund the project with an additional 1,000-seats added. That would add another $150,000 to the total price tag, according to representatives from Flintco, the construction company handling the project's design.
Clark thanked the riding club for being "very amenable" throughout the planning process for relocating the rodeo grounds. He said members have even volunteered to put in bucking chutes and fencing to help defray the cost of the project.
Riding club member Jeff Lee called it a "stressful, but enjoyable process" in working with Clark and other city staffers on the project. Lee, an announcer at rodeos all over the country, pointed out that the rodeo is "one of the longest running events in the area" and "the only place in the community that gives youth the opportunity to work with equine." He also said that each year, more than 500 rodeo contestants from several states compete at the Siloam Springs Rodeo, which is "just about the same" as the Rodeo of the Ozarks in Springdale.
"The property we reside in is pretty much in the current growth pattern of Siloam," Lee said. "Not dealing with today's problems now is potentially going to be more costly if we wait to deal with it later.
"Our riding club has really come together through this whole process. We're glad to move, but we're just as equally happy to stay, if we had to, where we're at."
Director Bob Coleman mentioned the city has been in talks with the Siloam Springs School District to sell the property of current rodeo grounds for the school to expand its baseball/softball fields. He asked city staff to go back to the school district to renegotiate a better sale price, which was $382,000 for the land.
Other directors thanked Lee and the riding club for its show of support and sounded intent on finding ways to fit the higher cost of rebuilding the rodeo grounds at the new location into the budget.
"I'm all in favor of moving the rodeo; I have no idea how to get the extra money and I wish I did," said director Carol Smiley. "I think it's a good program, not only for adults, but for the younger generation coming up."
Director Steve Beers said he grew up attending a small-town rodeo and also the National Finals Rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyo. He said it was "quite a learning experience" and "a blast" to witness growing up.
"I'm super supportive of us finding a way to make this happen," Beers said. "But we've struggled with making sure we get another $500,000 for the museum; we've struggled with being cost sensitive.
"The good news is we're not in crisis, where we have to make a decision today. So I'm with the rest of the board saying we need to get more information to figure out how to make this happen."
General News on 01/21/2018