Officials at Northlands confirmed that the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) would continue to be held in Edmonton for at least two more years.
Days after sources told CTV News the major event would not, in fact, move to Saskatoon in 2017 under a memorandum of understanding, organizers confirmed the event would stay in Edmonton through to 2018.
The news came months after the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) announced the CFR would move to Saskatoon in 2017, after 43 years in Edmonton.
Before that decision, Northlands and the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) submitted a joint proposal to the CPRA for the event – where the CFR would move to Rogers Place downtown, and Farm Fair International would continue to be held at the Northlands Expo Centre. That proposal was not accepted by the CPRA.
The current plan does not include OEG – but Northlands President and CEO Tim Reid said the door was open.
“We looked at this as an internal business decision, as I suggested, this was a partnership between us and the CPRA,” Reid said. “We’d welcome the opportunity to bring OEG to the table at any time.”
On Monday, when news of the event returning to Edmonton first broke, CTV News spoke with Scott Ford, Executive Director of the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, where CFR would have been held.
Ford said the change was “disappointing”, and said the decision to change locations appeared to come from the CPRA, after the organization appointed a new executive director.
