Even NFR is bigger in Texas
Thomas & Mack Center smaller, more compact than Globe Life Field
ARLINGTON, Texas — For the past 35 years, pro rodeo’s big belt buckles have been handed out at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
But because of coronavirus restrictions in Nevada this year, the National Finals were moved to Arlington.
Since Dec. 3, the 62nd Wrangler NFR has been conducted at spacious Globe Life Field. The rodeo is scheduled to conclude its 10-day run Saturday night.
And the differences in the two venues have been stark.
In Las Vegas, the rodeo has been held at the renowned Thomas & Mack Center, the home of UNLV basketball. The arena is oval-shaped and much smaller than Globe Life
Field as the crowd is in the faces of competitors.
But at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers, the dirt arena has a much larger, triangular-shaped configuration with a more distant crowd.
“The difference to me is the Thomas & Mack is really small and compact,” said Stetson Wright, the reigning world all-around champion. “But this feels more like The American (at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium) or Houston (NRG Stadium). I love both of them. Regardless of where the NFR is at, it’s the Super Bowl of rodeo. I’ll be happy wherever they hold it.”
At The American and the Houston Livestock Show Rodeo, the arena floors are larger and part of the crowd is in nosebleed sections. At the Arlington NFR, many fans are watching from the upper decks.
“You ride in there at the NFR (in Las Vegas) and the fans are right on top of you — you’re riding in there in a dark tunnel and you don’t get to swing your rope, but here, you’re riding around and fans can see you,” said Marty Yates of Stephenville who won the first two-rounds of tie-down roping at Globe Life Field. “It’s more of a laid-back feeling. But it’s still the NFR. I still have the NFR pit in the bottom of my stomach.”
Barrel racer Emily Miller-beisel, an Oklahoma cowgirl who won the sixth and seventh rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, said Globe Life Field is much different than the Thomas & Mack Center.
“I don’t know that there’s anything similar besides there’s three trash cans out there,” she said jokingly. “It’s a whole different ballgame. When you run in Thomas & Mack, you feel like you’re running into a trap. It’s so enclosed. During the grand entry, you circle around and look up, it’s just a straight wall of people right there, they’re right on top of you, versus here, it’s so open. The lights are really bright. There’s a lot to see.”
At the Thomas & Mack Center, the cloverleaf, barrel racing pattern is smaller than Globe Life Field and times are faster.
“The wingspan of this arena is really wide,” Miller-beisel said. “It’s hard for people to see on TV how much space they really have. There are a lot of things here that I’ve had to tweak my riding for sure.”
At Globe Life Field, bronc and bull riders exit out of 12 bucking chutes instead of seven. There are two roping boxes instead of one and there’s way more space for a calf or steer to run once it explodes into the arena.
The roping chutes are near the yellow foul ball poles and the string of yellow bucking chutes stand in between.
There’s also a warm-up riding pen for competitors and livestock pens behind the bucking chutes, which is nonexistent under the roof of the Thomas & Mack Center.
“It’s hard to compare the two
(venues),” said NFR bareback rider Tilden Hooper, who lives in the Fort Worth and Saginaw area. “I really like riding in Vegas, but I love riding here in Texas. I’m partial to it because it’s my home state and I get to go home every night and sleep in my own bed.
“But I think the crowd has been great for whatever we’re able to seat. I love the arena. The facilities are super nice, the locker rooms, just everything leading up to the rodeo. It’s a lot easier to get your horse saddled to do all that. It flows way better at this building.
“I think it gives those horses a little more room to really get up and kind of show out,” he added.
Hooper said it appears that the move to Globe Life Field has been a big hit with fans.
“Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, this is Cowboy Town — it’s Cowboy Country,” he said. “I love what Vegas had done for us. No shade on them, but I really love it here.”