After 16 days, the National Western Stock Show has come to a close. This year's event saw 705,574 visitors, the second-highest attendance of all time.
This year marked as the 112th year of the National Western Stock Show, and the organization reported that there were over 700,000 visitors, the second-highest ever. The all-time record is still held by 2006's stock show (100th anniversary) with 726,972 guests. And who knows what the numbers would've been like if we didn't get that snowstorm on Sunday! "We appreciate every person, young and old, from near and far that came out to make memories with us," said Paul Andrews, stock show President and CEO. [caption id="attachment_31992" align="aligncenter" width="1380"]
Courtesy of the National Western Stock Show website[/caption]
Now that it has come to a close, stock show organizers are looking towards 2019, and with it comes construction on the National Western Center. The space will double in size and will have more space for parking.
Andrews said, "We're rebuilding the National Western Center project, so next year you're going to have a whole lot more parking. We're going to have a lot of the buildings torn down around us, so you'll be able to park in those areas next year so people will have an even better experience."
The attendance isn't the only impressive stat that came out of this year's show. A champion steer at the Junior Livestock Auction went for $140,000 to 13-year-old Lillie Skiles, who broke her record from last year when she sold her steel for $135,000!
Were you one of the many 700,000 guests in attendance? Are you already planning on going again next year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And don't forget to share your photos and videos of the stock show with us HERE.