The Cheyenne Frontier Days board has decided not to pursue parimutuel horse racing at Frontier Park, saying it’s not a fit with the Frontier Days brand.
Accel Entertainment offered to lease and make substantial upgrades to infrastructure and facilities at Frontier Park in return for Frontier Days agreeing to host 16 days of live horse racing there.
Frontier Days CEO Tom Hirsig says that while the money could have been a big help in meeting an estimated $150-million dollars in needed repairs and upgrades, “you can’t put a dollar amount on our brand.”
Hirsig says it’s not only Frontier Days, it’s the city of Cheyenne’s brand and they take great pride in the brand and are committed to continue delivering a world-class show that preserves and promotes Cheyenne’s history, culture and tradition.”
Accel had already encountered a major setback when the Laramie County Commissioners tabled its request for racing.
The commissioners said they needed more information about the proposal and wanted Accel to conduct more outreach with the community to collect public input.
An informal public forum on Accel’s plan drew opposition from most residents of the Frontier Park area. They cited concerns about a range of problems from noise and traffic to gambling and crime.
CEO Hirsig says Cheyenne Frontier Days is going to need to rebuild most of the grandstands over the next 10-years, a project estimated to cost $40-to-60-million dollars.
Repairs and other improvements over the next 20 years have an estimated price tag of $150-million dollars.