'Going in disappointed': Longtime rodeo fans gear up for final CFR at Northlands Coliseum

Every year for the past 25 years, Ken Hale and his wife Linda Forrehave gone to the Canadian Finals Rodeo at Northlands Coliseum.

This yearwill be the CFR'slast year in the Coliseum which is in the back of the couple's minds as they head into the start of the event on Wednesday.

"We're going in disappointed that it's going to be the last," Hale said Monday. "Overall, we're very grateful that we've been fortunate to go."

• Northlands Coliseum will close permanently at end of this year

They've been sitting in the same section, 126, for the last 10 years. In that section, the couple issurrounded by friends and family members of many of the competitors.

"We're just amazed at how they can dedicate themselves to stand up, say, for their husbands or wives, for what they go through the whole year," Hale said.

"It's a great sense of community," Forresaid."You get to run into people you maybe see once a year."

• The last charge of the Canadian Finals Rodeo into Northlands Coliseum

Admiration for the competitorsand the excitement are what have brought the coupleback to the CFR year after year.

"It's the adrenalin throughout the whole building," Hale said. "It gets you on the edge of your seat."

CFRfuture home undecided

Preparations for this year's CFRare in full swing.The ice surface at the Coliseum has been removedand replaced with dirt.

But the location of next year's CFR is still up in the air.

"Obviously I think it needs to happen in Western Canada because there's just such a marketplace for it," said Tim Reid, Northlands president and CEO. "My hope has always been that we find a way to keep it here in Edmonton."

Reid said the event, along with FarmFair, is worth around $50 million to the city's economy.

Any decision on the CFR's future is out of Reid's hands with control of the Coliseum to be turned over to the City of Edmonton as of Jan. 1.

"The future is a bit undetermined," said Jeff Robson, spokesperson with theCanadian Professional Rodeo Association. "We have to look at what's best for our association and the event."

There are four cities that have shown interest in hosting the event. Robson won't say who the other contenders are, except that "Edmonton is one of them," and that the CFR is in discussions with the Oilers Entertainment Group to potentially use Rogers Place as a venue.

My hope has always been that we find a way to keep it here in Edmonton.- Tim Reid, Northlands president and CEO

For longtime rodeo fanHale, the possibility of CFR moving to Rogers Placeraises some questions.

"The prices are going to be jacked up a little bit due to the fact it's a new building," he said. "Another concern would be parking."

Then there are the questions around the animals used in the various rodeo events."Where are they going to put the livestock?" he asked.

Robson said a final decision on the CFR's future won't be known until after this year's event, but said the association isdetermined to find a new home that's suitable for rodeo fans.

"This is a juncture for generations,"Robsonsaid. "We need to make sure generations to come are going to get every bit or more opportunity than we had."