Greeley Stampede cancels 2020 rodeo, music festival

GREELEY — The Greeley Stampede has joined the ever growing list of COVID-19 casualties.

The annual rodeo, music festival and western celebration, which is in its 99th year, has been cancelled for 2020.

“This decision was not made lightly. Obviously, it was a very difficult one to make,” Stampede marketing coordinator Kevin McFarling told BizWest. “Our committee followed the direction of health officials and the guidelines we’ve been given. It seems like the right decision to make because obviously we want to protect the health of the community.”

While specifics are still being worked out, the Stampede plans to issue refunds to ticket holders or credits toward next year’s rodeo, which is still expected to proceed. 

“We don’t have any plans to reschedule later this summer,” but as of now the Stampede is not considering cancelling or postponing events beyond this year, McFarling said.

Organizers held out hope until very recently that the show could go on as planned June 23 through July 4. 

“We hoped that we would be able to [host the 2020 event] and we were just taking it one step at a time to see what was going to happen,” McFarling said. “The closer we were getting to the event, the less likely it was looking.”

Cancellation of the 2020 event will have a major impact on the city’s economy. Visit Greeley estimated that the 2018 Greeley Stampede produced an economic impact of almost $30 million.

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