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03-24-2006, 10:18 PM
PRCA Moves to Albuquerque
By: Ben Moffett - Contributing Reporter
© 2006 Ben Moffett - Reprint Permission Granted
COLORADO SPRINGS -- When I learned about the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy planning to relocate to Albuquerque, I decided to take a look for myself -- find out what New Mexico was getting with an incentive package to lure it away from Colorado.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/PRCAMove.jpg
My assessment: I was disappointed, but not disappointed enough to fault Gov. Bill Richardson for spending state dollars to lure it and the headquarters offices of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. to Albuquerque. Colorado. On the contrary, I believe its an extraordinary bargain, because there is nothing wrong with it that can't be easily and inexpensively fixed.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is a brand name, the largest and oldest rodeo sanctioning body in the United States. Sometimes brand names go haywire as Ford and General Motors can recently attest. Buy it when it's cheap, Warren Buffett might advise.
New Mexico is getting the Hall for a reasonable price, in my mind. New Mexico is offering a $17 million incentive package to move the association and will build a $30 million equestrian center next door, part of Richardson's effort to bring a variety of horse events to the state.
For it, as announced in a Feb. 13, 2006 news release saying that the Hall of Fame "had chosen to relocate" to Albuquerque, the move will bring 85 full time jobs, a $3.35 million payroll and 50,000 annual visitors.
I think the visitor figures are conservative, given the equestrian center, which will lure "horse people" to the Hall, not just Interstate passers-by as is the case in Colorado Springs.
But something needs fixing first. I visited the Hall from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Yes, I was there for two full hours, furiously scribbling notes off wall panels because I couldn't find an employee that could help me.
During those two hours, only three other visitors were present -- a couple, ex-Oklahomans now living in Alaska and looking for honored Okie cowpokes, and a single male visitor, who didn't know a bull from a bass fiddle.
I also met one employee, a young lady who not only took entrance fees, but also managed the souvenir sales area, which also doubled as the exit.
Now efficiency experts might say it's a good idea to put the souvenir sales area next to the entrance, force you to walk through it to exit, and let one employee do both jobs. But that only indicated to me they weren't getting too much business. That and the fact that I chose Wednesday because they are closed every Monday and Tuesday every week. Fifty thousands visitors a year? That sounds like horse manure to me -- inflated figures.
I asked the young lady if she could let me talk to an executive or, at worst, an information officer, for a reaction on their move. She said "they" were taking a late lunch, because they had been in meetings over the lunch hour.
I gave her my card, and asked her to let them know I was in the building. They never looked me up, and I couldn't have been too hard to find, walking around alone, taking notes. A long, working lunch, no doubt. I called Thursday from home, got a recording, left my name, phone number and told them of my interest in doing a story on their move. They never called back..
Now for my disappointment. My tour started in a room full of founders' photos, a few pieces of sculpture, including a donated Frederic Remington piece called "Bronc Buster," (a highlight) and a custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a cowboy scene painted on the gasoline tank.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/bronc_buster_16.gif
The cycle was roped off, blocking the only rodeo piece in the room -- a plaque with the name of PRCA rodeos contributions to the Hall. Half the support tags were blank -- the only New Mexico supporter was the Lea County Fair and Rodeo.
The next room was better, devoted exclusively to that great all-around cowboy Casey Tibbs, and including a lot of his gear and a bigger than life-size photo of him on the Oct. 22, 1951 Life Magazine cover. Tibbs is generally considered the first rodeo performer to be imbued with celebrity status by the general public.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/caseytibbs_lifemag.jpg
But things went downhill after that. I was especially disappointed there was no way to measure the Hall of Famers achievements based on the display.
I'll use the typical display of Peralta's Olin Young as an example. His wall display included a couple of trophies, (for winning what I couldn't tell because of the poor lighting) a saddle and other tools of the trade plus a photo of him with a 12-line, 106 word citation. To give you an idea of how few words that is, there are 76 words in this paragraph starting with "It was" and ending right here.
And the citation included such pointless information as "a super all-around athlete" and "an outstanding steer roper." I kind of figured he be an outstanding steer roper since he made the Hall of Fame in that category. It was as if the writer had nothing to say about Young, and he or she were filling each 12-line, 100 were citation with cliches to fill the space.
One of the things I found is the Hall does a lot to please sponsors and celebrities.One of the Hall of Famers I found was Malcolm Baldridge, the late, former Secretary of Commerce under Ronald Reagan, who owned a ranch around Claunch in Socorro County during his tenure in the nation's capital. He made the Hall in the "notable" category.
Then there was the famous one of them all -- Gene Autry. Gene made it in the "stock contractor" category.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/aubrown2.jpg
When I finally found the exit -- I never go into gift shops -- I found the young lady who had greeted me at the entrance. I asked her a question about one of the exhibits. Her response: "I really don't know much about the rodeo side. Mostly, I just sell hats."
Still, I'm looking forward to seeing the Hall of Fame in Albuquerque. Or Socorro, Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Magdalena, or Claunch if the governor really wants to put it in the heart of cowboy country.
And I'd like to get the job of rewriting the citations. I'm sure I can find something to say about the great calf and steer roper Olin Young other than "he was a great roper."
(Ben Moffett is a San Antonio, N.M. native, and among the last Socorro County residents to use a horse-drawn plow. Contact him at benmoffett@comcast.net).
For more about the PRCA move, please see these related links:
ESPN: PRCA Moves to New Mexico (http://sports.espn.go.com/prorodeo/news/story?page=g_news_PRCA_moving_060211)
Rodeo Blog: Thumbs Up for the New Mexico Governor (http://rodeo.about.com/b/a/149586.htm)
AmericanCowboy.com: American Cowboy Announces PRCA Move (http://american.cowboy.com/cowboynews/news040.shtml)
ProRodeoOnline.Net: It's Official Rodeo Hall of Fame Moving to New Mexico (http://prorodeoonline.net/rodeo-021106.php)
Casey Tibbs Site: Casey Tibbs Photo Album (http://www.geraldroberts.com/caseytibbs.html)
Gene Autry Museum: Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum (http://www.cow-boy.com/musaut.htm)
By: Ben Moffett - Contributing Reporter
© 2006 Ben Moffett - Reprint Permission Granted
COLORADO SPRINGS -- When I learned about the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy planning to relocate to Albuquerque, I decided to take a look for myself -- find out what New Mexico was getting with an incentive package to lure it away from Colorado.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/PRCAMove.jpg
My assessment: I was disappointed, but not disappointed enough to fault Gov. Bill Richardson for spending state dollars to lure it and the headquarters offices of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. to Albuquerque. Colorado. On the contrary, I believe its an extraordinary bargain, because there is nothing wrong with it that can't be easily and inexpensively fixed.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is a brand name, the largest and oldest rodeo sanctioning body in the United States. Sometimes brand names go haywire as Ford and General Motors can recently attest. Buy it when it's cheap, Warren Buffett might advise.
New Mexico is getting the Hall for a reasonable price, in my mind. New Mexico is offering a $17 million incentive package to move the association and will build a $30 million equestrian center next door, part of Richardson's effort to bring a variety of horse events to the state.
For it, as announced in a Feb. 13, 2006 news release saying that the Hall of Fame "had chosen to relocate" to Albuquerque, the move will bring 85 full time jobs, a $3.35 million payroll and 50,000 annual visitors.
I think the visitor figures are conservative, given the equestrian center, which will lure "horse people" to the Hall, not just Interstate passers-by as is the case in Colorado Springs.
But something needs fixing first. I visited the Hall from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Yes, I was there for two full hours, furiously scribbling notes off wall panels because I couldn't find an employee that could help me.
During those two hours, only three other visitors were present -- a couple, ex-Oklahomans now living in Alaska and looking for honored Okie cowpokes, and a single male visitor, who didn't know a bull from a bass fiddle.
I also met one employee, a young lady who not only took entrance fees, but also managed the souvenir sales area, which also doubled as the exit.
Now efficiency experts might say it's a good idea to put the souvenir sales area next to the entrance, force you to walk through it to exit, and let one employee do both jobs. But that only indicated to me they weren't getting too much business. That and the fact that I chose Wednesday because they are closed every Monday and Tuesday every week. Fifty thousands visitors a year? That sounds like horse manure to me -- inflated figures.
I asked the young lady if she could let me talk to an executive or, at worst, an information officer, for a reaction on their move. She said "they" were taking a late lunch, because they had been in meetings over the lunch hour.
I gave her my card, and asked her to let them know I was in the building. They never looked me up, and I couldn't have been too hard to find, walking around alone, taking notes. A long, working lunch, no doubt. I called Thursday from home, got a recording, left my name, phone number and told them of my interest in doing a story on their move. They never called back..
Now for my disappointment. My tour started in a room full of founders' photos, a few pieces of sculpture, including a donated Frederic Remington piece called "Bronc Buster," (a highlight) and a custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a cowboy scene painted on the gasoline tank.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/bronc_buster_16.gif
The cycle was roped off, blocking the only rodeo piece in the room -- a plaque with the name of PRCA rodeos contributions to the Hall. Half the support tags were blank -- the only New Mexico supporter was the Lea County Fair and Rodeo.
The next room was better, devoted exclusively to that great all-around cowboy Casey Tibbs, and including a lot of his gear and a bigger than life-size photo of him on the Oct. 22, 1951 Life Magazine cover. Tibbs is generally considered the first rodeo performer to be imbued with celebrity status by the general public.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/caseytibbs_lifemag.jpg
But things went downhill after that. I was especially disappointed there was no way to measure the Hall of Famers achievements based on the display.
I'll use the typical display of Peralta's Olin Young as an example. His wall display included a couple of trophies, (for winning what I couldn't tell because of the poor lighting) a saddle and other tools of the trade plus a photo of him with a 12-line, 106 word citation. To give you an idea of how few words that is, there are 76 words in this paragraph starting with "It was" and ending right here.
And the citation included such pointless information as "a super all-around athlete" and "an outstanding steer roper." I kind of figured he be an outstanding steer roper since he made the Hall of Fame in that category. It was as if the writer had nothing to say about Young, and he or she were filling each 12-line, 100 were citation with cliches to fill the space.
One of the things I found is the Hall does a lot to please sponsors and celebrities.One of the Hall of Famers I found was Malcolm Baldridge, the late, former Secretary of Commerce under Ronald Reagan, who owned a ranch around Claunch in Socorro County during his tenure in the nation's capital. He made the Hall in the "notable" category.
Then there was the famous one of them all -- Gene Autry. Gene made it in the "stock contractor" category.
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/aubrown2.jpg
When I finally found the exit -- I never go into gift shops -- I found the young lady who had greeted me at the entrance. I asked her a question about one of the exhibits. Her response: "I really don't know much about the rodeo side. Mostly, I just sell hats."
Still, I'm looking forward to seeing the Hall of Fame in Albuquerque. Or Socorro, Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Magdalena, or Claunch if the governor really wants to put it in the heart of cowboy country.
And I'd like to get the job of rewriting the citations. I'm sure I can find something to say about the great calf and steer roper Olin Young other than "he was a great roper."
(Ben Moffett is a San Antonio, N.M. native, and among the last Socorro County residents to use a horse-drawn plow. Contact him at benmoffett@comcast.net).
For more about the PRCA move, please see these related links:
ESPN: PRCA Moves to New Mexico (http://sports.espn.go.com/prorodeo/news/story?page=g_news_PRCA_moving_060211)
Rodeo Blog: Thumbs Up for the New Mexico Governor (http://rodeo.about.com/b/a/149586.htm)
AmericanCowboy.com: American Cowboy Announces PRCA Move (http://american.cowboy.com/cowboynews/news040.shtml)
ProRodeoOnline.Net: It's Official Rodeo Hall of Fame Moving to New Mexico (http://prorodeoonline.net/rodeo-021106.php)
Casey Tibbs Site: Casey Tibbs Photo Album (http://www.geraldroberts.com/caseytibbs.html)
Gene Autry Museum: Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum (http://www.cow-boy.com/musaut.htm)