In Fort Worth, the first part of the year always brings extra layers of flannel, bull sheeeeet, and cold hard cash.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re grateful for two of those. Old Man Winter can stick it. (I do hope he didn\u2019t hear that.) Yet, he just can\u2019t seem to help himself by decreeing a round of \u201cStock Show weather\u201d to torment us all.<\/p>\n
And, sure as Christmas comes every year on the 25th, the forecasters have begun tormenting us with the threat of arctic \u2014 arctic to me anyway \u2014 \u201cinclement\u201d weather this weekend.<\/p>\n
I saw something on the socials the other day about the Alaskan Wood Frog. It freezes solid in the winter. Heart stops, breathing ceases, brain goes silent. In the spring, it comes alive as if nothing happened. That\u2019s many of us in winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, anyway, that\u2019s all offset by the economic impact, which like the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is enduring. And hot. Well, it\u2019s legendary.<\/p>\n
At an economic impact forum, \u201cThe Power of Sports in Fort Worth,\u201d hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Stock Show officials say its impact on the local economy is $120 million, with 1.2 million people visiting the grounds for the 23-day show.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the impact of Will Rogers Memorial Center is $350 million a year. There are horses roaming the property pretty much year-round. Specifically, about 200 events every year. That\u2019s why they call those guys who built the complex 90 years ago visionaries.<\/p>\n
Will Rogers, as you know, debuted its multimillion-dollar makeover for the Stock Show, including newfangled amenities like hot water in the bathrooms.<\/p>\n
Horses were at the center of economic development in Fort Worth at the very beginning and they still are. The more things change \u2026 .<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether you know it or not, whether you’re a bank or a builder, your business is fueled in part by the equine industry,\u201d says Pam Minick, who moderated a discussion the equine industry on Thursday at the Kimbell Art Museum. \u201cIn the Stockyards alone, when you think of equine, you might think of the steers, but we’ve got drovers on horseback that push those steers and 10 million visitors a year are seeing that. Don\u2019t think that those visitors don’t impact your businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those is the National Reined Cow Horse Association, which has moved all of its operations to Fort Worth after transferring its premier event, the Snapple Bit Futurity, here several years ago. Between two events, one in February and the futurity in the fall, the NRCHA is in the coliseum 30 days.<\/p>\n
The transformation of the Stockyards includes the city-owned Cowtown Coliseum. Built in 1908, she is the grand dame of public buildings in Fort Worth. It is managed through a partnership of the PBR, ASM Global, and Stockyards Heritage Development Co., which has upgraded the facility to meet modern standards and expectations.<\/p>\n
Those upgrades have amounted to a transformation in business activity.<\/p>\n
In 2026, the complex will host 279 events, up from 76 when the partnership took over, says Tim Young, general manager of Cowtown Coliseum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve worked really hard to keep the historical value while making the building function better for our guests,\u201d says Young. \u201cI believe in 2022 it did about $4 million of revenue just out of the Coliseum. We’ll finish this year at about $28 million.\u201d<\/p>\n