Dear Editor,
I am confused as to why there is such a difficulty for council in allowing the rodeo to continue its 37-year-old tradition of having the indoor arena as a venue. It can’t be the cost.
It was reported that the 21-day closure of the arena after the fire cost the arena $15,675 in lost rental revenue, which is the peak of the rental season. That amounts to $746 per day.
The rodeo uses the arena for 13 days in the middle of summer which would mean a loss of $9,698 at that daily rate. With the rodeo association willing to pay $10,000 for that time, the arena is actually making money or at the least breaking even.
Why the paranoia all of a sudden that the arena has to be sanitized every three years due to the rodeo? That doesn’t make sense. It hadn’t been cleaned to such an extent for 37 years, even though the rodeo was using it all those years. I remember a few years ago when we even had a circus with circus animals using the arena, which didn’t seem to cause a problem.
If it hadn’t been for the fire, it probably wouldn’t have been cleaned for another 37 years, despite the rodeo. Any cow manure or dirt dropping from the rafters onto the ice would have been dealt with after the first sweep of the Zamboni.
It has also been reported that in the next year or two, council and the province will be asked to come up with some $6.4 million for extensive renovations and repairs to the activity and fitness centres, $2.6 million of which will be used exclusively for a retrofit of the arena.
All this to be hopefully completed by 2018. Why on Earth would council approve an expenditure, or ask anyone else to pay a $100,000 bill to thoroughly clean the arena prior to major repairs and renovations taking place. That would be nonsense.
Surely, after this construction is complete, the arena would be cleaned and ready for use before it was open for business again. A decision could be made at that time as to how often we need the arena cleaned and who would pay.
Many non-profit organizations benefit from the rodeo’s largess when it shows a profit and they also use the rodeo as a fundraising event themselves.
Surely the visitors to Jasper have a unique experience in attending a rodeo which they never thought they would ever see. If we lost the rodeo, what would it be replaced with? A couple of hockey clinics, I presume. Now that would create a unique visitor experience not soon forgotten.
I certainly agree with those who say that a rodeo is a cruel sport—not for the animals necessarily, but mostly for the cowboys. Really, when was the last time you saw a 600-pound bull being carried from the infield on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance because some pissed off cowboy tried to stomp it half to death. Quite the reverse, I would think.
I hope that if the rodeo cannot find an acceptable outdoor venue that council will be pragmatic and allow what has become an iconic part of the summer package we offer to visitors to continue. It has really never hurt anything and if we lose the rodeo, we will never see it again.
Jack Templeton
Jasper, Alta.
