It’s Stock Show and Rodeo season in Fort Worth, and more than a million people are expected to visit before the festivities end in February.
The Will Rogers Memorial Center, whose art deco tower stands over Fort Worth’s Cultural District, first hosted the Stock Show in 1944. It was built in 1936 to commemorate the Texas Centennial.
At 90 years old, the Will Rogers complex is still busy outside Stock Show season. Western sports are big business in Fort Worth and getting bigger.
Mike Crum calls Will Rogers the heart of North Texas’ equestrian sports world. He’s the director of the City of Fort Worth Public Events Department, which manages the Will Rogers complex. He talked to KERA News about what the center means to the city and what its future could look like.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Western sports are really important to Fort Worth. We're talking in a cultural way, in a financial way. But starting with the second part, can you tell me a little bit about the financial impact that these sorts of events have on the city?
The Will Rogers complex is the heart of the Western equestrian industry in North Texas. We are literally hosting events 364 days a year. The only day that we are closed for business is Christmas Day. So that in and of itself tells you not only what the demand is for the Will Rogers complex, but also the state of the equestrian business in North Texas, which is very robust.
How big of a deal is it here versus other cities in the state?
We are at the beginning of the three week-long Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Really, this is the community's premier event. Western culture is what you think of when you think of Fort Worth, and the Stock Show and Rodeo -- which is held both at Dickies Arena and at the Will Rogers Memorial Center now -- is the expression of that Western culture. It is a piece of who we are as Fort Worthians.
And what is Will Rogers' role in that?
Originally, Will Rogers was opened in 1936 to be the counterpoint to what was going on over in Dallas at Fair Park in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Texas. And it was built to host those events, and then it was built to host events clearly over the long haul, literally for the last 90 years.
Originally, the auditorium was the city's preeminent performing arts center. The coliseum was the preeminent sports and entertainment building in the market. And even though successor buildings have been built in Fort Worth since then, the Will Rogers Center still serves a great role in this community, in terms of hosting those Western equestrian events that are so important to us being able to tell the story of who we are.
What does a typical day at Will Rogers look like?
We don't have really any typical days, because every day at Will Rogers is a little different because of the variety of events that we host.
The auditorium is one of the go-to stops for the dance recital business in the Metroplex. So it is not uncommon to see three, four-year-olds walking in in their pink tutus while somebody's riding by them on a million-dollar cutting horse. That's the vibe out at Will Rogers.
Has the Will Rogers schedule become busier over the years? What are the trends that you've seen?
Being as busy as we are already, I'm not sure that we could get busier. We have some facilities that have some additional capacity, but when you look at our show arenas, they're pretty much maxed out all year long. And, you know, of course, that creates wear and tear on the facilities, and that has to be addressed from time to time. Actually, we just addressed one of those needs through a recent $50 million renovation of the original Coliseum building.
Can you tell me a little bit about why that renovation was needed, and when people walk in, what do they see now that some of those renovations have been completed?
The building itself has been in business for 90 years. And like anything 90 years old, periodically, things need to be refreshed, right?
First and foremost, remember that the three legacy buildings — the Coliseum, the Pioneer Tower and the Auditorium — the exteriors of those buildings are national historic sites. So we can't alter those exteriors.
On the inside though, we have more latitude, and we can work within the envelope of the building to create the more modern amenities that today's spectators expect. Clean, modern restrooms, a clean concourse, open views into the seating bowl. With this project, we had to do that in a way that respected the history of the building.
What do you hope for the Will Rogers Memorial Center in the future?
I think the complex is still the right place, at the right time, to serve not only the needs of the Western equestrian community, but our community in general. And you know, if we are diligent about maintaining and improving the facilities, there's no reason why one day it couldn't celebrate a 200th birthday.
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