ODOC director requests $8.3 million to upgrade OSP rodeo arena

Jan. 10—A budget request from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections includes a request for funding to upgrade and rehabilitate the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Prison Rodeo Arena.

Upgrading and rehabilitating the rodeo arena is considered a necessary step in bringing the back the OSP Prison Rodeo.

Oklahoma Department of Corrections Executive Director Steve Harpe included the $8.3 million request for OSP Prison Rodeo arena funding as part of a state legislative appropriation request of $552 million, according to ODOC.

It's included in the ODOC's total 2024 Fiscal Year Budget Request of $643.2 million, which includes another $68.1 million in revolving funds and $2.8 million in federal funds.

Harpe made the request for the $8.3 million for the OSP Prison Rodeo arena funding outside the standard operating budget appropriation request, ODOC said.

He is asking for the $8.3 million by creating the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Prison Rodeo Revolving Fund.

"This fund will be solely for upgrading and rehabilitating the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Prison Rodeo arena," the ODOC statement said. "Reviving the OSP Prison Rodeo will create prison program opportunities and promote economic development."

ODOC has already invested $1 million in rollover into repairing the arena, according to the ODOC.

"Bringing back the beloved rodeo is very exciting," Director Harpe said through the ODOC. "We're ready to begin the process and see Oklahomans fill the stands and be entertained. The inmates are also excited about the reinstatement of the rodeo and want to be involved."

McAlester Mayor John Browne reacted with enthusiasm to Harpe's request for the ODOC funding for the OSP Prison Rodeo arena.

"We are very much in support of his request," Browne said. "Any way we can hep along that line, we will be more than happy to do so."

Browne said the return of the OSP Prison Rodeo would be a big economic driver for McAlester. It would also bring another addition to the quality of life in the city and draw visitors to the city as well, he said.

McAlester Tourism Director Billy Sumner agreed.

"Obviously, McAlester is in support of anything that could bring back an event of this magnitude," Sumner said. "If that's something that materializes, we would like to work with them."

Efforts to bring back the OSP Prison Rodeo began several years with then-OSP Warden Jim Farris, who is now ODOC's chief administrator of State Institutions.

Farris spoke of his plans in 2021 to bring the prison rodeo back to OSP, shortly after he became warden at OSP and the neighboring Jackie Brannon Correctional Center — but first he had to deal with the issue of the prison's dilapidated rodeo arena and grounds.

To learn from an engineering standpoint exactly what it will take to bring the dilapidated prison rodeo arena, concrete bleachers and the arena grounds back up to the level needed to safely host the large outdoor rodeo, Farris, while still warden at OSP, contracted with BKL, Inc. of Tulsa, an engineering and architectural firm.

They encountered a challenging sight, from an engineering standpoint, such as dilapidated concrete bleachers inside the rodeo arena in various states of disrepair — including some that were cracking, crumbling or sinking into the ground.

Some bleachers were deemed unrepairable, but Farris wanted to preserve as much of the original arena as possible

Farris spoke of his plans during several interviews with the News-Capital during the time he served as OSP warden. He outlined his plans again during an August 2022 luncheon hosted by the Indian Nation Chapter of the Scottish Rite held at the Masonic Center in McAlester.

"I'm going to get this back, one way or the other, " Farris said at the time. "I think the people of McAlester and the state of Oklahoma deserve this."

Before the OSP Prison Rodeo's 2010 cancellation, it drew thousands of visitors and locals from around the state and the nation to McAlester for the then-annual event.

It included traditional rodeo activities, such as bull and bronc riding, steer wrestling and calf roping — along with specialty acts and unique events, including the wild tub ride, the wild horse race and money the hard way.

OSP's prison rodeo proved so popular, it continued for approximately 70 nonconsecutive years, with the few breaks in-between brought on by events such as a world war and a prison riot.

OSP's Prison Rodeo began in 1940, but the first interruption soon followed with World War II. After the war ended in 1945, the OSP Prison Rodeo resumed in 1948.

Another interruption occurred following the devastating 1973 OSP prison riot OSP, with the prison rodeo then resuming in 1978.

By that time, it had become a joint venture involving the ODOC, the city of McAlester and the McAlester Chamber of Commerce.

It abruptly ended following the 2009 Prison Rodeo, when ODOC canceled the 2010 event.

In cancelling the 2010 rodeo, the ODOC cited the state budget crunch at the time, along with a personnel shortage and the deteriorating condition of the prison's rodeo arena.

City of McAlester officials are hoping that Harpe's request will be the beginning of bringing the OSP Prison Rodeo back to McAlester.

"We're in full support," said Sumner.