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Red River Riding Association and Burkburnett disagree on rodeo lease; council tables agreement
Summary
The Red River Riding Association asked the commission to honor lease terms negotiated May 12, seeking a 10-year $1-per-year lease and key operational independence; city staff sought a six-month temporary agreement focused on liability coverage. With no acceptable short-term text agreed, the commission tabled the lease.
Burkburnett — The Burkburnett City Commission tabled consideration of a lease for the Boomtown Bay Rodeo Grounds after the Red River Riding Association told the board the temporary agreement presented differed from terms they negotiated on May 12 and that they would not sign the document as written.
Becky King, representing the Red River Riding Association, told the board the association was willing to operate the grounds under a long-term lease that included a $1-per-year term, additional acreage for parking, and the association retaining responsibility for maintenance, operations, vendors, crowd control and insurance. "Our association is simply asking that you honor the negotiated agreed upon lease terms from May 12th, 2026 meeting and vote on the version that reflects what we agreed upon at the table in good faith," King said.
City staff and several commissioners said the board had previously asked staff to prepare a short-term (six-month) temporary agreement to allow events while staff drafted a final long-term lease. Staff emphasized the temporary agreement was intended to provide liability protection to the city and to allow the association to proceed with an event; legal counsel later advised a long-term draft could not be prepared in the short window between meetings.
Speakers from the community, including long-time association members, described decades of volunteer maintenance and youth programming at the grounds and urged the city to preserve the relationship. "Without this writing club and the arena, I do not know who I would be today," one commenter said, describing the club's role in youth development.
Because the association would not sign the temporary agreement as presented and the city did not have a final long-term draft ready, commissioners voted to table the lease item to permit more negotiation. Legal staff noted that without a lease the association’s presence on city property could be considered unauthorized and that the city would not be covered by its liability insurance for events until a binding agreement was in place.
What’s next: Staff will continue negotiating with the association, clarify which terms can or cannot be altered in a short-term document, and return a revised agreement to the commission; the city also discussed the potential for a special meeting if a quicker resolution is needed to preserve an upcoming rodeo date.
