Jennifer is a member of the Lancaster County Ag Society. Their primary responsibility is to run the Lancaster County Fair. The Lancaster County Ag Society manages the Lancaster Event Center.
Hoyt Krueger is currently an intern with the Lancaster Event Center working primarily on the National High School Rodeo.
The LEC opened in 2001 to provide a new home for the Lancaster County Fair. But they do much more than the Fair!
There have been a couple of expansions and another is being planned. They have held national and international events - as many as 7 in a single day. They are credited with bringing in over 500,000 visitors and 1.2 million visitor days to Lincoln.
One of the greatest accomplishments is hosting the National High School Rodeo. The organization has chosen the LEC for the 2020 and 2021 event, then again 2026 and 2027. They are hopeful that they will continue to be on the 6-year rotation. The National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) was excited to have Lincoln as an option because the community was large enough to handle the group and provided more options for the participants fro off-hours entertainment and dining options.
The LEC increased their camping facilities to support the event - they now have 1250 camp sites. Many of the participants have converted trailers - half used for their horses, and the other half used for sleeping quarters. The expanded camping area supported those participants.
However, that does not really compete with the use of hotels/motels. There are parents, grandparents and friends of the participants who will stay in the hotels. And everyone will eat in our local restaurants.
One of the unique things with this event is that the participants stay for extended periods - many staying up to 10 days. Because of how the registration is set up they may have to arrive early just to register. Then as the the events take place, the contestants are not eliminated with a single event - it is set up so that they have a 2nd opportunity to compete a few days later.
The amount of economic impact is compared to 3 football games. And, it is funds that would not normally be brought into Lincoln.
For the National High School Rodeo Association - click here
For the Lancaster Event Center - click here