A trick rider entertains during the 2024 rodeo. Photo courtesy of The Redding Rodeo Association.
The Redding Rodeo has been in operation for three-quarters of a century, and after a unanimous vote Tuesday by the Redding City Council, the next 25 years at its riverfront arena is all but assured.
Aerial view of the rodeo during the 75th anniversary in 2023. Photo courtesy of the Redding Rodeo Association.
The evening meeting was sparsely attended by about 20 people, including several men who wore Asphalt Cowboys T-shirts.
The council’s vote authorized a resolution affirming the city’s intention to sign a lease “of sufficient length to secure necessary funding for planned infrastructure updates.” The actual lease is pending the resolution of a couple of issues, including whether the lease extension complies with the state’s Surplus Land Act.
After the meeting, Mayor Tenessa Audette said the city expects a favorable decision from the state Housing and Community Development Department within 20 days. The city contends the rodeo arena is exempt from the 2019 law because its current lease (currently set to expire in 2029) dates back more than 75 years.
Photo courtesy of the Redding Rodeo Association.
Ted Bambino, president of the Redding Rodeo Association, said his group has been eager to have the lease extended so it can launch a capital campaign to fund a variety of improvements and renovations.
A rendition of the proposed bleacher upgrade. Photo courtesy of the Redding Rodeo Association.
At the council’s Sept. 17 meeting, Bambino listed some of the big-ticket projects under consideration, including upgraded bleachers ($1.8 million); roller gates at the main entrance and an ADA-compliant ramp at the arena’s north end ($70-80,000); additional fencing and improvements ($80,000); and VIP boxes and a concert stage ($1.8 million).
Redding Rodeo Association President Ted Bambino. Photo by Jon Lewis.
Bambino and other rodeo supporters also were concerned ongoing efforts to update the city’s Riverfront Specific Plan—development guidelines covering 380 acres of public riverfront land stretching from the rodeo grounds to Cypress Avenue—would evict the rodeo from its longtime home.
Although council members individually pledged their support for the rodeo, earlier proposals for a long-term lease failed to gain a majority of votes. In an effort to speed up the process, Council member Joshua Johnson asked that the lease extension again be considered; in-lieu of that, the council voted to form an ad hoc committee to explore lease details. Johnson and Audette were appointed to that ad hoc committee
Bambino (and others) complained that the ad hoc committee was an unnecessary stalling tactic, but the rodeo leader had changed his opinion after a couple of meetings with the committee members and City Manager Barry Tippin.
“I initially thought it would be an avenue for prolonging the process,” Bambino said Tuesday. But after two fruitful meetings, Bambino described a new “partnership” that “actually shortened up the process.”
Bambino said he was impressed Johnson took the time to talk to two Pendleton, Ore., city council members to learn how they manage the popular Pendleton Round-Up rodeo.
While expressing her support for the lease resolution, Council member Julie Winter added some cautionary notes. Saying the entertainment industry is increasingly difficult to navigate economically “without losing your shirt,” she said she wanted to make sure the Redding Rodeo Association didn’t overextend itself with loans and other financing tools.
Council members Julie Winter and Joshua Johnson. Photo by Jon Lewis.
Parking remains a concern, Winter said, while noting the association will have to program more events to service its new debt “and how will you do that without taking money away from Advance Redding?” she asked, referring to the organization that leases the city-owned Civic Auditorium.
“I want to make sure we’re going in with our eyes open,” Winter added.
Council member Mark Mezzano expressed confidence the rodeo will do just fine. “They can rely on their 76-year history of being successful. It sells out every year. You can’t even get a VIP box. There’s a waiting list. I think we’re on the right track here.”
The formal lease is expected to be back before the council in two to three months.
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