CAMP VERDE – When the Camp Verde Arena Association signed up to host the Turquesa Circuit Finals Rodeo last year, neither the CVAA nor rodeo organizers were quite sure what to expect.
When an established rodeo changes location, it takes time to “build” it in the new community and attract its fan base to the new location. According to rodeo president Tony Zembik, they quickly realized it would only take a year.
“We wanted to find a house that we were happy with, and that’s what we did,” Zembik said.
Circuit Turquesa was so pleased with the response that organizers turned the event into a five-year deal with the arena.
Now, both the rodeo and the arena are in the final stages of planning for this year’s finals, scheduled for Nov. 4-6. And they welcome all sponsors to help offset the high cost of putting on a big show, which also includes a downtown island party.
This week, during a regular meeting on Wednesday, September 7, the Camp Verde City Council is scheduled to discuss the $12,000 sponsorship bond.
In April, CVAA board member Stacey Barker presented the request for financial support to the council. On Saturday, while attending a Turquois Circuit rodeo in New Mexico, he told The Verde Independent he was happy to see it as an action item on the latest agenda.
Barker said in places like Prescott and Payson, he sees community and government as a vital part of their respective main rodeo events. This is what he would like to see in Camp Verde. When he attends other rodeos, he said, he makes sure to go to their sponsoring restaurants and other businesses. Major rodeos are created to benefit their host communities.
In Camp Verde, Low Places Bar & Grill is home to the Main Street party. Zembik said they learned a few things last year.
“We want to take it outside,” Zembik said, “so there can be more interaction with the contestants and the community. We’re also going to increase the lighting a lot.”
By moving more activity outside, Low Places customers will be able to dine in the restaurant, he said, so the event doesn’t interfere with his business as much. Partygoers can enjoy a buffet outside. There will be live music at the bandstand across the street. Zembik said there will be a beer garden for adults and bounce houses for kids.
“We were very, very happy with the community and the town,” he said. “They were exceptional.”
At the Camp Verde Equestrian Center, which hosts the rodeo, the event sold out two of three days. The rodeo’s popularity in the community and its location in the dead center of the state was bound to draw large crowds to Camp Verde, as far as Barker was concerned.
“It’s like that old movie ‘Field of Dreams’: If you build it, they will come,” Barker said. “You’re right on 260, you’re right on I-17. This is a place people will want to be. It’s not going to do anything but get bigger. It’s about making Camp Verde a destination. There’s really great things in our city that people will come to see, and this is just one more.”
The equestrian center has become exactly what the arena association envisioned for it, Barker said. With a seating capacity of 3,000, it has hosted horse and equestrian events sponsored by local businesses.
This includes the upcoming Fall Saddle Classic roping event on September 24 and the Fort Verde Days Rodeo on October 7-8.
“It’s a big undertaking,” Barker said of hosting big rodeo events. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t understand. They just show up and enjoy a good show. It takes a lot of people, a lot of sponsors, a lot of people who believe in you to achieve something like that. We will work for four months to make a two-day rodeo. For the Turquoise Circuit, you work year-round to do this four-day rodeo.”
For information on how to help sponsor Fort Verde Days Rodeo or the Turquoise Circuit Finals at the arena, visit CampVerdeArena.com. Also visit TurquoiseCircuitFinalsRodeo.com or email TonyZembik@yahoo.com for finals rodeo sponsorship opportunities.
