EXPLOREMAGZ 2018ANNUAL REPORT 5 6 7 8 9 CONTENT 3 4 5 6 CEO’s Report Chairman’s Report Non-Stop Rodeo Frontier Nights Despite the Rain, The “Can Do” Attitude We’ve been kicking up dust since Nights Shows were once again a 2018 was an Excellent Year is Alive and Well 1897 with non-stop rodeo action popular attraction 7 11 12 13 Recap Finance Summary Giving Back Sponsors Family Fun, Foundation, Investing Revenue and expense Every year, Cheyenne Frontier Thank you to our amazing in the Future, & Animal Care amounts summarized Days donates thousands of dollars 2018 Sponsors 2 • Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Annual Report Chief Executive Officer’s Report Despite the Rain, 2018 was an Excellent Year When it rains, it pours; and boy, did it in the Wild West Show. This is a great day rain during Cheyenne Frontier Days™. for locals to visit Frontier Park, and arrive We experienced 10-days of rain, every ahead of the crowds. day, during the celebration. Despite the ™ weather, our crowds stayed strong. We were Cheyenne Frontier Days Merchandise hit anticipating larger crowds, but our walk up all-time highs that can only be expected was greatly affected by the rain. The weather with rain. Our hooded sweatshirts and long is a strong influence for our July ticket sales. sleeved tees flew off the racks, and by July 29 we were sold out of most everything. Despite the rain, we had our third largest paid attendance in Cheyenne Frontier This is also the first year we sold spirits in the Days™ history. We also set all-time records Buckin’ A Saloon. The addition of spirits was for merchandise, malt beverage and liquor met with great support from our consumer. sales. Being able to serve these different products positively effects our customer satisfaction. Attendance for all nine rodeos increased With the purchase of our liquor license, our from 2017, and night show attendance was plan is to serve these products in areas on up 7.8 percent. Both the Florida Georgia Line Frontier Park that we can control. and Eric Church shows ranked among our top ten night shows of all time. Eric Church’s We are excited about our new building performance ranks our sixth night show of opening in 2019, it will be a great addition all time with a sellout crowd of 22,500. It is to Cheyenne Frontier Days™ not only during important to note we implemented 22,500 our celebration, but as a great facility for as our maximum capacity two years ago the community to host events in during after the all-time crowd for Florida Georgia the entire year. More to come on this great Line was 25,011. As an organization, we feel project. exceeding an attendance of 23,000 is not optimal for the consumer. Our staff and volunteers are excited for our 2019 Celebration. We are expecting great In 2018, we held the first of our “Opening things, and with a little cooperation from Day” celebrations. Opening Day included Mother Nature we should have another discounted carnival rides, food and excellent year. beer specials, and a Wild West Show that highlighted some of the history of the Tom Hirsig “Daddy of ‘em All®”. In 2019, we plan to Chief Executive Officer expand Opening Day to include more events Cheyenne Frontier Days™ 3 • Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Annual Report General Chairman’s Report The “Can Do” Attitude is Alive and Well at Cheyenne Frontier Days In 2018, I had the opportunity to shadow, outgoing General Chairman, Bill Berg. This allowed me to witness Cheyenne Frontier Days™ volunteer force perform at the highest level. Every day was hampered with bad weather, to the point that it even delayed our rodeo. All ten days, I saw volunteers assisting our customers, vendors, and exhibitors with whatever problems mother nature threw at them. After spending some time in the Indian Village, Carnival, Rodeo, Midway, Ticket Office, Old Frontier Town and the Old West Museum; I noticed one common theme. Customer service was our highest priority. I attended the night shows from my season ticket seats, and I found myself observing how well our volunteers performed with an occasional quick glance at the night’s performer. I was extremely impressed how Eric Church concert appeared to be incident free. I attended Grand Parades and Free Pancake Breakfasts; and I noted good attendance, and as in most cases, great volunteer participation. I visited the Buckin’ A on several occasions. Every time I walked in, without fail, the saloon was operating in a professional manner. I also took the time to visit with rodeo contestants asking the tough question, “How can we improve Cheyenne Frontier Days?” Majority of the time I received the same response, “I don’t know, it’s ‘The Daddy,’ and it don’t get any better than this.” Even with all the rain, our staff and volunteers continued to work in an outstanding fashion. The diligence and hard work resulted in one of Cheyenne Frontier Days top grossing shows. Some areas needed some attention, and our volunteers agreed. By working as a team, any areas of improvement could be resolved. The “Can Do” attitude was alive and well in everyone involved with Cheyenne Frontier Days. This is very much an understatement, but I am extremely excited for 2019. With changes coming this year: a new building and a new fly zone for the Thunderbirds, hold on to your hats! Jimmy Dean Siler General Chairman Cheyenne Frontier Days™ 4 • Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Annual Report NON-STOP RODEO ACTION Since 1897, Cheyenne has celebrated its Old West roots by serving up non-stop outdoor rodeo action in one of the largest outdoor arenas on earth. Overall, rodeo attendance in 2018 topped out at 101,462. The average cost for a rodeo ticket in 2018 was $24. Trevor Brazille Levi Rudd During the 2018 event, over 1,178 competitors from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) participated in bull riding, saddle bronc, bareback, rookie saddle bronc, steer wrestling, steer roping, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing, the famous wild-horse race, Professional Bull Riding (PBR), Championship Bull Riding (CBR), junior barrel racing, and mare and colt race events. Money and prizes including trophy saddles and buckles worth nearly $1 million were awarded to contestants at the rodeo and the Championship Bull Riding/World Championship event. Brody Poppino Ruger Piva The 2018 Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Champions are: All Around ....................................................................... Trevor Brazille Steer Wrestling ........................................................................Levi Rudd Steer Roping .................................................................... Brody Poppino Bull Riding ...............................................................................Ruger Piva Will Lowe Shane Hanchey Bareback Riding ...................................................................... Will Lowe Tie-Down Roping ...........................................................Shane Hanchey Team Roper Header ......................................................... Chad Masters Team Roper Heeler ...................................................... Joseph Harrison Saddle Bronc ........................................................................ Brody Cress Barrel Racing .......................................................................Nellie Miller Chad Masters and Joseph Harrison Rookie Bronc Riding ....................................................... Lane Schuelke Rookie Bronc Futurity ................................................Smith Pro Rodeo Senior Steer Roping ................................................................. CA Lauer Wild Horse Race Champions .............................Bobcat of the Rockies Congratulations to all of these cowboys and cowgirls for a great performance Brody Cress Nellie Miller and their win at the “Daddy of ‘em All”®. Lane Schuelke CA Lauer Bobcat of the Rockies 5 • Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Annual Report FRONTIER NIGHTS® Night shows were once again a popular of top-notch entertainment. With ticket prices attraction with sell-out crowd of 22,500 turning to Cheyenne Frontier Nights® concert event out for Eric Church with special guest Chris averaging $55 and Professional Bull Riding/ Janson. Overall, 115,214 fans enjoyed nine nights Championship Bull Riding averaging $35.82. July 20 – Florida Georgia Line July 21 – Cole Swindell July 22 – Charlie Daniels Band with special guest Michael Ray with Chase Rice and Morgan Evans with special guest Tracy Lawrence July 23 – PBR CHEYENNE July 24 – CBR WORLD FINALS July 25 – Eric Church Two Day Bull Riding Event Two Day Bull Riding Event with special guest Chris Janson July 26 – Nickelback July 27 – Toby Keith July 28 – Dierks Bentley with special guest PopEvil with Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots and Ned LeDoux with special guest Kip Moore 6 • Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Annual Report ™ CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS FRONTIER CHEYENNE FAMILY FUN Daily rodeo action is complimented by the Behind The three free pancake breakfasts and four the Chutes tours. A Native American Indian Western heritage parades continue to be popular Village, the Old Frontier Town, the Buckin’ A attractions for visitors to Cheyenne Frontier Saloon, the chuck wagon cook-off, the pancake Days™ again this year. The three pancake breakfasts, and the Western Art Show to round breakfasts fed over 23,138 people and the four out the celebration. parades continued to attract large crowds. More than 47,611 visitors to the 2018 event The Behind the Chutes tour gave 2,608 fans an experienced