Mount Isa Rodeo in financial strife as Tourism Minister rejects bailout

Amid a sharp drop in crowd numbers, a cloud is hanging over the Mt Isa Rodeo’s future after the state government knocked back a $500,000 request for a bailout.

Ben Terry competing at the Mount Isa Rodeo. Photo: Stephen Mowbray

The Mount Isa Rodeo will tighten its buckle as part of a scaled-back event amid a sharp drop in crowd numbers, with a cloud hanging over its future after the state government knocked back a $500,000 request for a bailout.

The quarter-of-a-million-dollar prize pool lures bullriders from across the world, which last month came as far as Texas USA and backs up claims the outback mining city hosts the biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere.

But at the four-day event this August, there was a drop of about 40% in crowd numbers from last year, according to the rodeo’s chairwoman Rowena McNally.

The rodeo committee budgeted for about 25,000 attendees overall to consider slight drops on the previous years, even after the pandemic, but this figure fell somewhere between 17,000 to 18,000 this month.

After crunching the numbers, the board turned to the State Government to fund the shortfall, of about $500,000, so the rodeo could be held next year.

But this week it was denied by the Tourism Minister Michael Healy, who said he was “made aware” of concerns about the rodeo’s operations.

But he did not link such concerns with his decision to deny further financial support.

The community had expressed frustration at the running of the event for years, including ticket prices which start at $99 for a daily pass for the main nights, but also at the rodeo board’s disconnection from the local community.

Action from the 2024 Mount Isa Rodeo.

Ms McNally said about 30 per cent of rodeo attendees were local, 43 per cent from across Queensland, 24 per cent from interstate, and the rest from overseas.

But the numbers in regional and domestic visitors had dropped by half in 2024, which would cause problems for the rodeo’s feasibility in its current form.

It would also be a problem for the outback mining city’s economy as it drew in more than $15m from outside the city, which she said scaled back and local rodeos did not have the ability to do.

While the rodeo committee could scale back on the event in future years, and would likely have to resort to doing so, Ms McNally said the challenge would be luring in the same number of visitors from outside the region to meet major event sponsorship quotas.

“We’re looking at several million dollars to put on a big show like rodeo over four days, but in return you get this five-six-seven times that in return to the area of visitation … which is really important,” she said.

“I do hear, we’ve all heard, about bringing it back to a little style rodeo and that’s fine, anyone can do that, there’s already those rodeos in Mount Isa that come through.

“They’re all great but you’re only cannibalising local money, because you’re not going to get people to come miles and miles and bring dollars with them.”

The Tourism Minister said the rodeo drew in significant funding from Tourism and Events Queensland and that it had a contract of support until 2026.

“I’ve instructed Tourism and Events Queensland to work with Mount Isa Mines Rodeo on an appropriate outcome,” Mr Healy said.

Mr Healy said event organisers across the country were being forced to make hard decisions because of pressures brought about by cost of living challenges.

He said that Tourism and Events Queensland were offering support for such events by giving “comprehensive reviews of commercial assets and value.”

Originally published as Mount Isa Rodeo in financial strife as Tourism Minister rejects bailout