The stockyards were empty and shoppers haggled for last-minute bargains Sunday afternoon as the 16-day National Western Stock Show and Rodeo came to a close.
Attendance, at 643,100 visitors, was down 4.5 percent from last year, but topped the 600,000 mark for the 12th consecutive year.
The show’s president and CEO Pat Grant was pleased with the showing, given the dismal economy.
Grant said the show should do OK financially, though cattle sales were down “a little bit” this year, reflective of the overall cattle market.
Financial numbers won’t be available for a few weeks. Each year, proceeds from the nonprofit show fund dozens of agriculture-relating scholarships to colleges in Wyoming and Colorado.
“We were a little concerned at the beginning,” Grant said of the first six days, when attendance was about 10 percent off. “But we built momentum as we went on and finished with a much better show than we could have expected, given the economic conditions many families are facing.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
