Jason Kintzler: Here’s How To Save Border Days In 2020

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By Jason Kintzler

Last week, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and rodeo officials from across the state announced the cancellation of 6 major rodeos. The most important of these was the Cheyenne Frontier Days.

The rodeo is certainly part of the fabric of Wyoming and generates millions of dollars in tourism revenue each summer for various communities in the state. The cancellation of these attractions will certainly leave a deep scar on the economy here which has already been devastated by a deadly combination of COVID-19 and the collapse of the oil and gas industry.

So it made me think. How can we save the state’s biggest event to some extent while building for the future? What if there was a way to leverage an iconic brand and draw the international rodeo community through its collective bootstraps and prepare for something different?

Wait, cowboy. We are going digital.

PPV Cowboys

First, call all of these rodeo cowboys and cowgirls, tip your hat and set a date. Plan to host the CFD rodeo without fans in the stands.

Instead, we’re going to be creating the biggest à la carte rodeo event of all time.

Let’s get in touch with RFD-TV and other networks that might be interested in carrying part of the rodeo or perhaps broadcasting rights after the PPV.

Let’s build an international buzz on ‘Em All’s dad. It will take money and we will have to take advantage of tourism money and other mechanisms, but we will get there.

Think of it not as a Cheyenne or Wyoming initiative, but rather as the whole world of rodeo. We are going to be the symbol of perseverance and of the cowboy because because the world needs more cowboys.

And, if we believe in it, we have to put our money where our mouth is.

In addition, this idea has already been put into practice by people like PBR and NASCAR. No fans, but a great visual experience and brand exposure for sponsors and partners.

What about the rodeo? What is the bag? Sponsorship would start for the winners, but the rest would come from PPV dollars similar to other sporting events. Participants would share a reduction (percentage) of the PPV draw. It is a risk because we do not yet know what it will bring, but I suppose it is a bet that these participants will gladly take.

Entertainment

A rodeo in 2020 is about entertainment, so we’re going to need to liven things up between events. Imagine how many musicians would support such a cause?

And, at a price much lower than a concert in person. Let’s bring the country music community together and ask them to share live performances with us and our PPV audience around the world. Garth Brooks always said he wanted to come back to CFD and play. So maybe he will do it virtually for another one of these rodeo curls?

The local economy

It is certainly a challenge, but there are ways we can help. We could take advantage of the event to solicit donations from the Wyoming Rodeo Community Foundation, which in turn could help local businesses that will be affected by a lack of presence at the rodeo. Places like Cheyenne, Cody and Sheridan come to mind. We could also create a mechanism for people to view and purchase local products and services through the CFD website or the like. This can be eliminated more as things get closer.

A sustainable model

Perhaps the most exciting part of this is that this model could be expanded and built for future events. This would create new sources of income, new opportunities and a renewed enthusiasm for rodeo around the world. Access to this type of event would not be restricted to spectators only, but spectators from around the world. Ultimately, VR technology will allow an entirely different experience and we will be ready to capitalize.

It’s just an idea of ​​a guy and I’m sure there are a lot of holes and challenges that I don’t consider. But in the end, it is certainly 100% doable. And, if we’re going to hang our hats on a cause for the summer of 2020, I think that ranks up there as a viable option at all levels.

Why do I worry? I’m not a rodeo cowboy and I can’t stand making a dollar from rodeo tourism. However, I am a Wyoming guy who loves his condition and I am absolutely motivated by people’s assumptions about “the way it works, or the way it is” and I can’t stand complacency.

No cowboy or cowgirl I know has ever been satisfied with the average. If we want to be great, we have to work at it. We have to bite the bullet and keep going.

Here in Wyoming, we were born for that.

Jason Kintzler is from Wyoming and the founder and CEO of Lifekey, a wearable technology company, and Pitchengine, a public relations software platform. He also sits on the board of directors of the Wyoming Business Council.

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