American Royal Opens New Site

REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- The American Royal is gearing up for the first events at the new facility located in Kansas City, Kansas, which will be the first time in 127 years for a new location.

Previously, the livestock and horse shows, rodeo and barbecue were held in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, Missouri. Pat Macy, chief executive officer of the American Royal, said after long-awaited planning and construction, the new facility will be a great place for the events. "This is a step forward that we've been talking about for some time," he said. "We are excited to have the first animals roll in next week."

OPENING EVENTS AT NEW FACILITY

Events at the new facility will start with the Royal Showcase Horse Show, Sept. 12-13, 2026. That will be followed by the Cutting Horse Show, Sept. 18-21; the World Series of Barbecue, Sept. 30-Oct. 4; and the Fall Livestock Show, Oct. 9-25.

"We will even be having a farm-to-table event Sept. 17 as a collaboration between the Shawnee Mission School District's Broadmoor Bistro culinary program and the American Royal," he explained. The event is to help students understand better where their food comes from. Macy said the goal was to have more of these types of events in the future.

The new American Royal facility is located near the Kansas Speedway at State Avenue and 118th Street in Kansas City, Kansas. Groundbreaking happened in November 2023 on the estimated $375 million campus with funding coming from charitable contributions, private financing and public commitments. Construction restarted in mid-April after the first round of Kansas STAR (Sales Tax and Revenue) bond funding closed in early March. STAR bonds are a financing tool that allows Kansas municipalities to issue bonds for projects such as this, with repayment coming from future state and local sales tax revenue, according to Kansas Commerce.

CONSTRUCTION AND FUTURE PLANS

Macy said the STAR bond funds along with private donations will help with the second phase of construction, which will be the completion of the main arena and the learning and engagement center. The continued fundraising goal is to raise $18 million to meet the needs of the facilities.

While the arenas are not complete, the livestock will show in two rings set up within the barn space, where Macy said there would be plenty of room for spectators to watch the shows. The barn space is approximately 400,000 square feet and includes cattle ties for 3,700 head and small animal 6-by-6-foot pens for 2,500 head at the same time. Horse stalls, 10-by-10-foot in size, can also be placed in this barn to house 1,740 horses.

"There will be plenty of parking space nearby, and many of the area businesses are looking forward to having the event near their spaces," he said. "With this being the first time at this facility, we know there will be some challenges we may need to work through, but we are ready to host all of our exhibitors and spectators."

Some of the horse shows and the rodeo will continue to be held at the West Bottoms facility due to the need for a bigger space. Macy said the second phase, while dependent on fundraising, is expected to be completed by the end of 2028 or first part of 2029. The American Royal administrative offices will stay in the West Bottoms until that time.

"Depending on the needs of specific livestock events that could be hosted at the new facility, we are working through several requests to see what can be done," Macy added. "We look forward to having the flexibility to provide space for many exhibitions and educational events in the future."

Also read: American Royal Leaving West Bottoms: https://www.dtnpf.com/…

And for more information, visit: https://americanroyal.com/…

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com.

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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