The Best is Yet to Come for the National Western Stock Show

On Friday, January 7, 2022, the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) welcomed the public to the grand opening of the HW Hutchison Stockyard Event Center (SYEC) and other additions to the campus. These additions were the first completed in the $100 million capital campaign and came to fruition in late 2021.

The National Western board of directors and staff honored those that dedicated their lives to the continuation and success of the National Western with a red ribbon-cutting ceremony. Those honored had their families stand in their place as they approved naming rights of specific areas throughout the new stockyards and event center.


Attendees and the Don Norgren, Nick Petry and Ben Houston families were invited to reminisce on their respective family’s dedication in the aisles of the new yards as NWSS leadership spoke on the long-lasting impact these men had on the stock show. The families were bestowed the honor to cut their respective ribbon in a location dedicated to their loved one. They were also given plaques to commemorate the occasion for years to come.

The crowd then transitioned back to the front of the HW Hutchison Stockyard Event Center, complete with decorative wood from the old stockyards, as more areas on the stock show campus were dedicated to those that helped make the NWSS all that it is today. The Cille and Ron Williams Yard, Bev and Bruce Wagner Family West Plaza, Nan and Hugh Williamson Entry Plaza, Yvonne and Jeff Keller Event and Hospitality Suite, and the HW Hutchison Stockyard Event Center were officially opened to the public and quickly filled with people eager to experience the new facilities. The Wagner Equipment Co. Auction Arena, HW Brand West Plaza Balcony, Stow L Witwer Memorial Show Arena and Betty and Karl Bergner Concourse housed an enthusiastic crowd as more ribbons were cut. The atmosphere was filled with joy and thankfulness as the community gathered to celebrate the history of the yards.

To continue showing appreciation, the National Western partnered with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, CSU Spur, Denver Mounted Patrol and Great American Petting Farm for a children’s experience, “From Donkeys to Dinosaurs”. These interactive exhibits included a veterinarian experience, a paleontologist with various skeletons and fossils along with a science experiment station involving dry ice. A buffet of food was provided for attendees before a free concert by Nashville native, Jenny Tolman, to celebrate all that has been and all that will be in the new NWSS facilities.

By 2022 NWSS Media Scholar, Becca Paine