Prescott council reviews Rodeo Fairgrounds master plan; residents press for traffic, environmental and cultural safeguards

GH2 Architects presented an updated draft master plan for the Prescott Rodeo Fairgrounds on June 23, outlining improvements to circulation, parking, facilities and programs while retaining the historic rodeo arena.

"We started this process in October," said Robert Wozniak, principal with GH2, describing steering‑committee work with representatives from the rodeo, neighbors, the Cooperative Extension and the Prescott Farmers Market. The team summarized eight visioning themes including infrastructure modernization, environmental stewardship, parking and circulation, and preservation of historic and cultural identity.

The draft proposes multiple entry points, removable bollards to manage event traffic, designated contestant gravel lots with RV hookups, and a shuttle drop‑off. GH2 presented a maximum layout of roughly 1,059 gravel parking spaces plus 248 paved spaces and room for about 120 trailers; the team estimated current capacity at about 1,000 spaces and said the full layout could reach roughly 1,400 vehicles but would be refined as environmental and pedestrian elements are integrated.

The plan preserves the existing arena and four south buildings (Doc Pardee, Pritchard, Danny Freeman and the former extension office) and adds a covered barn/arena for livestock warm‑ups and an equipment barn. A proposed multi‑use pavilion and a two‑story Cooperative Extension building (approximately 11,000 square feet in the current concept) would host markets, classrooms and offices. "This is a community asset," Wozniak said, summarizing the public feedback.

Council members and public commenters focused their questions on three recurring issues: traffic and parking detail, environmental protections (stormwater and manure handling), and cultural or archaeological surveys prior to ground disturbance. Councilmember Ted asked for parking counts and the team replied that the numbers shown reflect the current layout but "as we start to work in some of the environmental and some of the pedestrian and access points, that number will likely reduce." Patrick recommended a traffic study if the council adopts the master plan to better understand long‑term changes before infrastructure work proceeds.

Environmental concerns were raised repeatedly. Steering‑committee members and neighborhood advocates asked that proposed bioswales and expanded stormwater measures be clearly documented and that manure handling be engineered. Truly Bracken, speaking from the public, described desirable composting infrastructure as multiple bays with ventilation and roofed structures and asked that the city's environmental team remain engaged. GH2 and staff stated the plan will iterate to incorporate engineered solutions and that manure management would be separate from the community compost program.

Several speakers urged an archaeological and cultural‑resource survey early in the project. Councilmember Gearing and others recommended surveys before utility trenching or new construction to avoid disturbing potential burial or ceremonial sites, and staff said such investigations would occur at the project‑level as sites are designed.

Public commenters also raised process and policy questions. Carter Labarge said written comments from an open house had not been delivered to council as he had expected and urged the council to pause until it received those materials and financial projections. Levi Darby and Rosalie Darby, representing Yavapai County Fair leadership, said the fair’s growth and event logistics require more careful study; Levi Darby noted the fair has grown from about 4,000 attendees over four days to roughly 51,000 and warned infrastructure (electrical, water, sewage) will consume much of the available funding.

Matt Alderson, director of Yavapai County Cooperative Extension, described space needs for extension programming and said building size will depend on available funding; other steering‑committee members and the Prescott Farmers Market director supported positioning education, demonstration gardens and market stalls on the site to encourage year‑round use.

City staff reiterated the project sequence: the master plan creates a concept-level framework; project‑level studies (zoning, leases, archaeological surveys, traffic and environmental engineering) and funding decisions would follow. The city attorney clarified that the city holds title to the property subject to a rodeo lease and that the lease, not a deed restriction, governs Prescott Frontier Days’ relationship to the site.

Next steps identified by GH2 and staff include further traffic coordination, additional environmental and archaeological study, cost estimating and phasing, an anticipated 60‑day public comment period, an August community meeting (subject to scheduling) and a final council presentation in September. No formal motion or vote occurred during the study session.