As the Canadian Cowboys Association (CCA) rides off into the sunset, the City of Swift Current bites the bullet on the losses.

The City will be eating the loss from hosting the CCA Finals Rodeo from 2016 to 2021. The Finals Rodeo netted the City a total deficit of $157,841.18 during the half-a-decade they partnered with the CCA, and the Swift Current Agricultural and Exhibition Association.

Jim Jones, general manager of Community Services for the City of Swift Current, presented the report to city council that summarized the events and damage.

"In relationship to previous hosting models," Jones began explaining. "This financial loss would compare to the City sponsoring this major event to the tune of $30,000 per year."

When the City entered the agreement back in 2016, it was under a profit-sharing partnership with the other two involved entities. At the time, this new arrangement was in line with an across-the-field shift for these kinds of events. It would see the municipality responsible for the successful implementation of events, with a guarantee of financial stability should there be a loss in any year of the event.

This agreement ended up going even further into the City's responsibilities only three years later.

"In 2019, a shift in the agreement transferred the fiscal responsibility of the event solely upon the City," revealed Jones.

Shortly after that change, the Covid-19 pandemic blazed a trail of stoppages for any and all events, making it even more difficult to pull off any event, let alone the rodeo.

"Upon review of the agreement in 2021 the City enacted the 'Notice of Termination' clause," said Jones. "Which allowed one of the partners to opt out of the agreement, with the intent to renegotiate the agreement to provide a more realistic financial outcome."

With the pandemic decimating attendance and volunteer numbers, the City opted out of the agreements to remain fiscally responsible to its constituents.

It seems like 2021 was the last ride for the City of Swift Current as the host of the CCA Finals Rodeo, as in January of 2022, the CCA entered into an agreement with the City of Saskatoon to host the Finals Rodeo in the province's largest urban center for the 2022 season.

It was recommended to council, by Jones, that they write off the recorded losses for the CCA Finals Rodeo from 2016 to 2021 for the full amount of $157,841.18.