JACKSON, Wyo. — Town Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to grant a one-year extension of the rodeo concession agreement with the Wilson family, namely WW Productions, to keep the current operation in place through September 2027, while Town staff will develop recommendations for the rodeo concessionaire for the 2028 season and beyond.
The extension amendment will also add a few items to the existing concessionaire agreement — to be presented to Town Council by Oct. 31 — including ticket reporting, access to tickets for locals before visitors and the removal of a section of the existing agreement that limits the Town’s options for concessionaires after 2027.
According to Deputy Town Manager David Garcia, the last time the concessionaire position was competitively bid for was in 2009, and WW Productions renewed for a five-year contract in 2021. Revenues for the concessionaire have grown since then: from just below $50,000 in 2004 to around $400,000 in 2025, with most of the jump in revenue happening following the pandemic.
Public comment was overwhelmingly in support of the Wilson family’s continued operation at the rodeo, including Senator Mike Gierau. Local senior at Jackson Hole High School Mattie Dornan tearily described the Wilsons as being “like family” and that it “would be really hard … to not have them.” Rick Howe, CEO of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce described it as “a first-class operation run by first-class people” and urged the council not to lose local family support.
Wilson family patriarch Phillip Wilson stood at the podium as the final public comment, stating that the rodeo is a “golden egg” for the whole community and preserves the Western heritage of the area, ” which I am here to tell you, we are losing rapidly,” he stated, ” … It’s hard to recognize the Western culture, but it’s very easy to recognize [it] when you go to the rodeo.”
The one-year extension will give the rodeo time to prepare for the 2027 season, since it needs months of lead time to raise stock, gather sponsors and staff the events.
Councilors concluded the item by allaying fears that the rodeo or fairgrounds will be removed, and mentioned that rumors about housing development or a reduced fairgrounds footprint were inaccurate. “I don’t know if the press is here, but please print that the Town Council does not want to get rid of the rodeo,” Councilor Devon Viehman said.
One public commenter took the opportunity to address a different concern regarding the rodeo. Skye Schell asked if any actions were being taken to measure decibel levels from the rodeo, and cited that many families in the neighborhood would like to know if noise monitoring is happening and if there are ways to explore directing sound into the arena, rather than to the surrounding areas.
