Lincoln will not host the 2027 High School Finals Rodeo after challenges in July

The Sandhills Global Event Center in northeast Lincoln will not host the 2027 National High School Finals Rodeo, it was announced Tuesday.

The facility hosted the 2026 finals, which included about 1,800 participants from at least six countries, and it was previously under contract to host next summer. The number of competitors grew from about 1,600 athletes competing in 2021 — the last time the event center hosted the finals rodeo.

That difference proved difficult for the Sandhills Global Event Center to handle. During the July rodeo, parents took to social media, voicing concerns about standing water and electrical outages on the campgrounds.

“Sometimes, we have to make business decisions that come from our head, not from our heart,” said James Higginbotham, executive director of the National High School Rodeo Association. “We have continued to grow. We're very fortunate to have grown, and that creates, sometimes, problems.”

The decision has more to do with the number of campsites and horse stalls, not the quality of the staff and facility, Higginbotham said.

“When you got to limit the number of campers that can come from a state, then they've got to go out somewhere else, which is good for the local economy, but it's not what they plan for all year long,” the rodeo director said.

The number of participants and countries competing will only grow for the 2027 event. Many families had to camp offsite in July, including “as far away as Eagle Raceway,” said Ron Bohaty, managing director of the Sandhills Global Event Center.

Where the 2027 rodeo will be held hasn’t been decided, but Higginbotham said Wyoming is under consideration. As for hosting in the future, the rodeo director said “if things were to change, Lincoln would be in the conversation.”

The facility could also benefit from building another pavilion to hold all events indoors. Higginbotham said indoor events provide consistency and fairness, compared to the possibility of rain affecting competitor’s times from one day to the other at outdoor arenas.

Bohaty said the event center is working on plans and funding for a “phase three” of construction to make improvements but acknowledged adding the necessary 200 acres would be difficult.

“That would lead to building a coliseum and another pavilion,” Bohaty said. “That's somewhere on the horizon for us. We did what we could this year.”

An economic impact report from the 2026 rodeo will be released in 30 to 45 days.