The Westerner Exposition Association will receive $250,000 from the provincial government in support of the 2018 Canadian Finals Rodeo at Westerner Park in Red Deer.
Red Deer-North MLA Kim Schreiner and Red Deer-South MLA Barb Miller presented the cheque before the Wild Card Rising Stars Rodeo at Westerner Park Saturday.
Ben Antifaiff, Westerner Park CEO, said the money, which comes from the Major Fairs Program, will help the park get ready to host the CFR Oct. 30 to Nov. 4 at the ENMAX Centrium.
“We’re grateful for the funding and excited to welcome a whole bunch of guests to our community,” said Antifaiff. “We’re looking forward to a heck of a good time and a great rodeo.”
This is the first year of a 10-year agreement with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) to host the CFR in Red Deer.
The money “helps us with some of the expenses that we’re going to bump into during the first year,” he said. “There is a lot of infrastructure and equipment we need in order to execute an event of this stature within our community.”
Antifaiff said the planning is going smoothly so far.
“We’re getting down to those nitty gritty details of all the little moving parts that need to be put together,” he said.
A volunteer campaign will be announced next week, he added.
Antifaiff said the event is expected to generate more than $20 million to Central Alberta.
“That’s a huge boost and we’re very proud to play our part in bringing that level of economic activity and prosperity to our region,” he said.
MLA Miller said she’s thrilled to have the CFR in Central Alberta.
“Rodeos are the lifeblood of a lot of rural Alberta families and we support everyone,” Miller said. “It’s important for the government to get involved with this because it’s showing we support sports, we support culture.”
MLA Schreiner said Central Albertans should be proud to host the CFR.
“We are Alberta’s third-largest city and we are ready for this,” she said. “This is something Red Deerians and Central Albertans were vying for and we’re so, so thrilled we’re going to have at least 10 years of CFR in our own backyard.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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