Lancaster Event Center announces National High School Rodeo Finals is coming to Lincoln in 2026 & 2027

Over the weekend, the Lancaster Event Center was chosen as a future host site for the world’s largest rodeo!

“What a great opportunity to see the highest level rodeo competition right here in Lincoln,” said Lancaster Event Center Managing Director Amy Dickerson.

The National High School Rodeo Association voted over the weekend to come back to Lincoln in 2026 and 2027 after making their initial trip in 2020 & 2021, which was already agreed upon.

“We’re super excited, it brings a huge impact to the county. It’s $16 million every time they come. So now we are tallying up to $64 million in impact for the county between 2020 and 2027,” said Dickerson.

The NHSFR is the world’s largest rodeo from a contestant standpoint.

It’s estimated the rodeo will bring nearly 50,000 visitors to Lincoln each year.

“We have 1,700 hundred contestants and their families coming from all over the country. 43 states, five Canadian Provinces, Mexico and Australia,” said Dickerson.

The National High School Rodeo Finals takes place in July each year.

Dickerson says geography helped Lincoln a lot.

Located in the middle of the country, it makes travel more reasonable for people on the coasts and other areas around the country.

“We have a long term plan to add more indoor space and they would like to work with facilities that are going to get their performance arenas indoors. Each contestant might only have one trip to the high school finals, its like making the Olympics, and they’d like a fair shot at their competition and to not be affected by weather,” said Dickerson.

This announcement adds up to economic impact for the county.

A study done recently projected to add $40 million a year for the county just based on outside tourists alone.

In the mean time, the event center is hosting over 322 events each calendar year.

“We’re sold out every weekend during the winter so we’re rotating different trade shows and different people events. Right now, we are getting ready for the Boat, Sport and Travel Show, if you’re interested in a boat or an RV, leisure activities, there’s some great entertainment for the family, completely free,” said Dickerson.

For more information regarding scheduling and ticket prices visit www.lancastereventcenter.org.