Laramie County business owners oppose decision to bump market for wrestling tourney

Jan. 3—CHEYENNE — Local business owners and vendors came out to speak against the Laramie County Board of Commissioners' decision to change the venue of a high school wrestling tournament, claiming it could be bad for business and harm local fundraisers.

When board Chairman Troy Thompson went to East High School in December to attend the Charlie Lake Wrestling Tournament, he noticed there was a lack of space. This caused the tournament to run late, and families traveling from out of town had to consider hotel options.

He set up a meeting with representatives from Laramie County School District 1 to discuss having the tournament relocated to the Event Center at Archer for years to come so they would have ample space. The vote came before the commission and passed unanimously.

The only problem: that is the same weekend the annual Cowboy Christmas Market uses the space at the event center. Commissioners proposed the market could take place at the Event Center both the first and third weeks of December instead of the regularly scheduled second weekend.

Organizers of the market and local business owners say that the event cannot be moved to a different weekend because that will compete with other craft markets and fundraisers that already have those dates set in place. On Wednesday, Thompson hosted more than 20 business owners and vendors at a meeting to listen to concerns and answer questions.

"By moving this event, it is going to cause an economic ripple effect in Laramie County completely," said Lindsey Taylor Groves, partner and chief operating officer for Simplicity 307, the group that organizes the market every year.

The Cowboy Christmas Market is the largest craft and vendor market in the state. In 2023, it had more than 8,000 attendees browsing the 225 vendor stands, most of which are local. Organizers of other fundraisers and markets say that they have no chance to compete with Cowboy Christmas Market if it were moved to a different weekend.

Deb Fairchild, representing the Women's Civic League of Cheyenne, said they host their Christmas House fundraiser every first weekend of December, and they have for 55 years. She said she is worried they won't be able to sell as many crafts or baked goods this year if they have to compete with Cowboy Christmas Market. In 2023, Christmas House raised $60,000 for local student scholarships and nonprofit grants.

Fairchild is also the president of the Cheyenne Winter Farmers' Market. With the proposed date changes, the local farmers and growers would have to compete with the craft fair for both of their scheduled December markets.

Groves said the date change would fall on the same weekends as other events, such as the craft show for Alta Vista Elementary, the Merry Makers' Market, and markets in Laramie and Wellington, Colorado, because the Cowboy Christmas Market draws in vendors from areas outside Laramie County. She said the second weekend of December was chosen carefully and strategically when the event started in 2018 so as not to disturb the existing markets and fundraisers.

"A lot of these [vendors] are veterans. These are people that were affected by COVID-19 whose businesses were brick-and-mortars or their jobs are wiped out," Groves said. "This is why we're extremely concerned."

She said it is too late for the other events to reschedule, as they already have dates confirmed, but it would be more feasible to attempt to reschedule for 2025.

"Even if we split it over both weekends, we're not going to make half of what we did on that day because of the timing," one vendor said. Another vendor said that the Cowboy Christmas Market and the Merry Makers' Market are her two highest-selling weekends of the year.

"So, by moving it to the next weekend, you're going to be taking my one of my biggest incomes for the year, right before Christmas," she said.

Impassioned speeches from local business owners holding back tears were met with applause from their peers as Thompson fielded questions from his constituents.

He said the wrestling tournament cannot be moved due to scheduling rules from the Wyoming High School Activities Association, and that the commissioners' decision is final.

Attendees criticized him for not having this conversation with the business owners before a vote was taken. Groves said she didn't find out about this change until it had already been decided.

"You could have come to talk to these folks, and we could have worked out something plausible," one attendee said. "But you're acting like what you are: a bully."

Another business owner said this will not only impact the finances of the vendors and other fundraisers and markets, but also of the local government. Simplicity 307 said they paid over $8,000 over the weekend to rent out the Event Center at Archer, which attendees preferred to using their taxpayer dollars to let the school district rent it. If sales are down, it would also reduce the revenue tax vendors pay to the county.

"You are making an economic downfall on our entire local economy, which already struggles as it is," one vendor said.

Some suggested hosting the tournament at a different venue, like the Event Center at Frontier Park, and Simplicity 307 said they intend to meet with every commissioner independently on the issue.

"I take all the information I can and consider it and then try to make the best decision for what I think is right for the people that are in Laramie County," Thompson said. "All the commissioners do that."

Noah Zahn is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government/business reporter. He can be reached at 307-633-3128 or nzahn@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on X @NoahZahnn.