Rodeo organizers urge City of Alamosa to fund improvements at rodeo grounds

Two members of the Honeycutt Rodeo committee addressed the Alamosa City Council during the citizen comment period to thank the city for help with a recent Alamo Roundup and to urge action on long-deferred improvements at the rodeo grounds.

Don Honeycutt praised the event's attendance and described the rodeo as a growing PRCA fixture that brings regional exposure. He said the committee set an arena record in bronc riding and that the event generates significant economic benefit; Honeycutt cited a figure presented to the council approximately 10 years earlier that he described as "over a million and a half dollars" of economic impact from the rodeo.

Honeycutt said the rodeo grounds were built in the 1980s and have received only minor upgrades in decades. "The electricity, you guys, is not good," he told the council, and he asked the city to prioritize improvements, writing that the grounds need "some big time improvements" including better power and back pens. He said generators have been used to cover power shortfalls and called for the city to act.

City staff and a councilor responded that staff had been working with Xcel Energy and local contractors to obtain cost estimates and that the city's capital-improvement budget for parks is limited. City staff asked the committee to bring concerns to the Arts and Recreation Advisory Board, which advises the capital-improvement program.

Honeycutt singled out city operations staff and volunteers for thanks and said the event has grown to a large-scale operation requiring more infrastructure investment. No council action was taken at the meeting; staff said they would follow up with the rodeo committee and the advisory board about prioritizing improvements.