ELIZABETH, Colo. — The Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo is a weekend event in June that brings more than 12,000 visitors and their dollars to the small community of Elizabeth. But like so many other events, it won't happen this year as the coronavirus continues to spread around Colorado communities.
Stampede President Jace Glick said this is the first time since World War II that they've had to postpone the rodeo.
"It's pretty sad," he said.
The decision ultimately came down to people's health and safety and if the money spent on the event would be worth it.
"We commit a quarter of a million dollars to the rodeo," Glick said. "If we had gone through with it and only half the people showed up, that would have been a financial disaster."
With so many unknowns surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, the Chamber of Commerce in Elizabeth, which sits about 45 minutes southeast of Denver, says it's not clear what the town will look like when everything is over.
"It definitely has been kind of a disappointing announcement for our community," said Michelle Rink with Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce. "We don't know what the economic impact is going to be."
A lot of the small businesses along Main Street rely on big events like the Stampede.
"We just don't know what the impacts will look like right now," Rink said.
However, there is a strong frontier spirit in the small towns of Colorado.
"It's in our DNA," said Glick.
Instead of looking at this as a setback, city leaders are already hard at work planning to make the 2021 Elizabeth Stampede the best one ever.
"We're going to make it bigger, better and faster," Glick said with a smile.