It seems everyone is a little country these days: Markets for western-themed fashion have been re-energized and country music is hotter than it’s been in decades.
“We call it the ‘Yellowstone effect,’” said Joel Cowley, the chief executive of the Calgary Stampede in Alberta, one of the largest rodeos in the world. “There’s a romanticism about the West and the cowboy that comes and goes. But I’m not sure in my lifetime that I’ve ever seen it as high as it is now.”
Cowboy culture going mainstream has translated to economic opportunities for cities and towns with a Western heritage. This summer, 1.5 million fans attended the Calgary Stampede to experience the annual rodeo show filled with concerts, cattle and circus performers. Those 10 days were a record turnout for the Canadian city’s marquee event, and officials are trying to emulate that vibrancy for the other 355 days of the year. Similar moves are taking place in other cities known for their cowboy culture including Denver, Houston and Kansas City, Mo.
In Calgary, that means transforming the area where the Stampede is held, and the adjoining neighborhoods, into a year-round entertainment and cultural district that influences growth and investment downtown, said Kate Thompson, the president and chief executive of Calgary Municipal Land Company, whose organization is charged with redeveloping the area, which has hosted fairs since 1886.
“We sometimes joke that we’re building an Olympic Village while hosting an Olympics,” she said.
Calgary, like other cities and towns that were once shipping points for livestock, is discovering that the low-lying, unfavorable, often flood-prone land that made sense to devote to livestock and processing cattle instead of homes and businesses offers a hotbed for new developments.
These cities hope their real estate projects will result in something similar to the successful stockyards redevelopment in Fort Worth. There, local leaders worked with developers for over a decade to capitalize on the city’s cow town heritage. The success of that project brought scores of sports and entertainment events, millions of visitors and new developments, including hotels, restaurants and retail, with plans for more.