Tourism Calgary says it’s considering making a pitch to the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) to move to the city known for its own long-running rodeo, the Calgary Stampede.
The CFR may leave Edmonton after lease negotiations broke down between the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) and the Oilers Entertainment Group and the City of Edmonton on Wednesday.
“We are going to have a good look at it,” Marco De laco, vice-president of sales, sport and major events at Tourism Calgary said Wednesday night. “We are going to start with a conversation with the CFR in the next two days and we are going to treat it like any other major event opportunity that we evaluate.”
Sources told Global News that if the CFR relocates to Calgary, the event would likely be held at the Scotiabank Saddledome at Stampede Park.
“We will do a fairly vigorous cost-benefit evaluation of it certainly, and we think it’s an event we think has the potential to bring some benefit to Calgary,” De laco said.
READ MORE: 2016 could mark the end of Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton
In a news release it issued on Wednesday, the CPRA said its board of directors unanimously voted down a proposal last week submitted to it by the Oilers Entertainment Group and the City of Edmonton.
The CFR has been held in Edmonton for decades and is Canada’s largest indoor rodeo.
The CPRA said it will continue to work with the City of Edmonton to ensure the 2016 CFR is a success.
With files from Caley Ramsay
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