Jan. 16—CHEYENNE — Wyoming Downs presented information to the Laramie County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday about two new event centers in Wyoming — one near the Colorado border in Laramie County and one by the Utah border near Evanston.

Marketed as the “Gateways to Wyoming East and West,” the centers are poised to focus on roping, rodeo, concerts and events through building multiple arenas, tracks, hotels, RV parks and gaming machines.

In Laramie County, the complex would be hosted on a 600-acre plot of the Terry Bison Ranch. There are currently 80 gaming terminals and 100 RV pads there, but Eric Nelson, owner of Wyoming Downs, has plans for further development.

“We plan on doing some nice hotel facilities out there, expand the RV facilities, build an indoor arena and then several rodeo facilities out there, and then we’ll do an Indian Relay and a racetrack facility,” Nelson said.

He said he hopes the potential 5,000-seat-capacity indoor arena will host year-round rodeo, and the multiple racing facilities will allow events to take place simultaneously.

Development will take place in both Wyoming and Colorado, but he estimated 90% to 95% will be on the Wyoming side. Nelson envisions maintaining a Western theme with an “old town,” which already exists at the ranch, and a “new town” that will more closely resemble Disneyland.

“We’re not here to ask for permission at this time,” Nelson said, “but we wanted to introduce the project to get the feedback from the community and from the (board of commissioners) itself.”

The commissioners did not provide any feedback during Tuesday’s meeting.

Nelson purchased Wyoming Downs in 1998. The company currently own the largest racetrack in Wyoming, located 10 miles north of Evanston. Wyoming Downs plans to construct a similar events center near the Utah border to draw out-of-state tourism from the Salt Lake Valley.

At the $35 million Evanston facility, 1,500 to 2,500 people show up each race day, and 97% come from the Salt Lake area. “I think we can do the same thing out here at the ranch and bring them in from Fort Collins and import the tourism,” he said.

There are currently three gaming sites in Colorado, and this potential site would be closer to the Fort Collins market than any of the existing Colorado facilities. Nelson said he doesn’t believe Colorado will approve another gaming facility nearby.

Last year, Wyoming Downs paid more than $17 million in taxes in the state of Wyoming, and $4 million of that was in Laramie County. Nelson said they will be able to move more quickly on this project once the Wyoming Gaming Commission approves wagering on rodeo.

He said he presented a legislation change to the state Legislature around four years ago, and is hopeful it will be on the Gaming Commission’s calendar for March. A public comment period will follow, and the decision will then be dependent upon the governor’s approval.

“At that time, we can really get started on our plans. Until we have that, of course, we’re stagnated on the rodeo facility. But we’re moving on it right now, on both sides.”

One community member asked Nelson how this will impact Cheyenne Frontier Days, and he said they plan on working hand-in-hand in order to avoid competition.

Noah Zahn is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s local government/business reporter. He can be reached at 307-633-3128 or nzahn@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on X @NoahZahnn.