theordquiz.com

By Bev Donner-Williams
   The Garfield County Frontier Fair Association is pleased to announce the long anticipated completion and grand opening of the reconstructed north grandstand on July 3, 2025. The festivities will feature the live band of Logan Mize, an authentic small town Kansas kid turned famous country music songwriter-singer.
   An opener prior to the Mize concert will begin at 8 p.m. in the arena facing the north stand. Mize has produced his own trademark of a blended, crowd-sourced country and heartland rock acoustic tour that brings an intimate and up-close show to small towns across America. His sixth and latest studio album, Her Heartland, is a tribute to life and love in the Midwest.
   Keri Koenigsberg, three-year secretary of the Frontier Fair Board, has volunteered her time and resources to help make this possible. She stated, “I am just so excited that we can offer this to the surrounding communities.”
   A disastrous storm ransacked the north and east grandstands of the Burwell rodeo arena on May 12, 2022. The course of events following this destruction has created a bigger and better facility for the fans and surrounding communities. The massive new north grandstand of Nebraska’s Big Rodeo stretches up to twice the size of the previous near century old grandstand. It hovers over the rodeo arena at an amazing height reaching up to 47 feet and will comfortably seat up to 4,648 spectators with plenty of legroom.
   The entire space beneath the seating is constructed as a FEMA-compliant storm shelter able to withstand damaging winds and tornadoes. This area also houses the banquet hall, restrooms, ticket office, as well as ample storage.
   Vice-president of the Garfield County Frontier Fair Association Board, Jess Helgoth said, “I feel that one of the features that the fans will enjoy and appreciate the most is the new restrooms.”
   Helgoth is completely correct with his assumption. The addition of 104 handicap accessible restrooms will definitely be an asset to the spectators of Nebraska’s Big Rodeo! Twenty-five women’s, twenty-five men’s, as well as two family restrooms with showers will be located at each end of the monumental grandstand.
   Incorporated within the grandstand is a 7,500 square foot, air conditioned reception hall that can occupy up to 450 banquet seatings. This is plenty of room for a band, dance area and dining for any type of event.
   The hall includes a full commercial kitchen with a walk-in cooler and ice machine. This area will also house a beer garden that will serve ice cold refreshments with a place to relax, cool down, and meet new friends. The hall has already been reserved for an upcoming wedding and banquet.
   “The banquet hall is one thing that I have really been excited about," explained Tony Larsen, treasurer of the fair board, “I have always envisioned an area that would allow our young people a place to be married in their own hometown. This hall is a much needed event space for our community.”
   The worn down, standing room only ticket office also has a new home under the grandstand. Here you will be able to purchase tickets, souvenirs, as well as rent camper sites with ease.
   This achievement was not completed overnight. It consisted of the teamwork of the board and surrounding community with Sampson Construction out of Lincoln, FEMA, State Historical Society, State of Nebraska, along with the innumerable amount of heartfelt donations, as well as volunteers to provide this unimaginable new face of Nebraska’s Big Rodeo! 
   Tickets for the sensational Mize concert are for sale at a reduced rate online or full price at the gate on the day of the concert. Purchase your concert tickets for July 3, 2025 or tickets for the one-of-a-kind rodeo performances with Grand Marshal Larry the Cable Guy, scheduled for July 23-26, 2025 at e-tix.com or nebraskasbigrodeo.com.