ABC Pro Rodeo venue secure through 2019 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

This won't be the last year of the ABC Pro Rodeo, regardless of the May 5 city vote to abandon the Lubbock Municipal Auditorium and Coliseum.

City Council District 3 Representative Jeff Griffith says the city council has an agreement with Texas Tech that the rodeo will be held in the coliseum in 2019. If the city does vote in favor of turning the coliseum over to Texas Tech on May 5, the university won't demolish the building until after the 2019 ABC Pro Rodeo. While it isn't a long-term fix, it does buy the American Business Club and city of Lubbock some time to find a new venue for the event.

Councilman Griffith said, "We're going to have to hope our timetable is good, it's never perfect, but we are dedicated. There's an ad hoc committee in place today to go forward and study and look at a dirt event center that is made for rodeo. The coliseum is not made for rodeo. It's adapted. We need a logistical place that has much more acreage."

As of right now, there is no exact time line for a dirt event center but, pending the city vote on May 5, Griffith is confident things are headed in the right direction.

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