NEBRASKAland Days in North Platte routinely draws 100,000 people over the 11 days of the festival, which includes a rodeo, parades, a concert series and other events. The annual festival’s economic impact on North Platte and Lincoln County exceeds $22 million.

Until now, though, it has never had a proper staging area for performers and rodeo participants.

“Everybody basically had to dress in their own vehicles, whether they were buses or vans,” said David Fudge, executive director of NEBRASKAland Days Inc. “We would bring some RVs in to temporarily office out of, and we would also bring in temporary shower trailers and restroom trailers, those sorts of things, so that we had adequate facilities on site for folks that were coming through town working for us. So this is a huge, huge improvement, one that, frankly, wouldn’t have happened without some help.”

A big chunk of that help came from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery and Investment Act. The $1.35 million project received a $625,000 grant from the shovel-ready program, which helps nonprofit groups with capital projects that were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Every June, NEBRASKAland Days draws thousands of visitors to North Platte,” said DED Interim Director Joe Fox. “The celebration features the Buffalo Bill rodeo, concerts headlined by high-profile country musicians, and an abundance of family-friendly entertainment. The festival has a major economic impact as out-of-town guests stay, shop, and dine at local businesses. Investing in the facilities used for NEBRASKAland Days strengthens North Platte’s ability to successfully host this much-anticipated annual event.”

The building project had been on the books for about a decade, Fudge said. “We were kind of getting to a point where we were close to pulling the trigger on it in 2020, and then COVID happened and we couldn’t function for a year.” A lot of what the organization was planning was halted, “and then the reserves we had built up to continue doing projects like these were basically consumed, just staying alive in that year,” he said. “Without the grant funds, the project would have happened eventually, but certainly not in the timeframe that it’s happening now.”

What’s now called the Entertainment Building has 4,400 square feet of space near the arena and grandstand with locker rooms, restrooms, showers, green rooms, a catering facility and offices. It replaces a 1,000-square-foot building that was moved elsewhere on the grounds.

The project is in its final stages, and organizers plan to have it substantially completed in advance of this year’s festival, which runs June 14-24. The Buffalo Bill Rodeo is set for June 14-17, and concerts by country singers Cody Johnson, on June 23, and Jason Aldean, on June 24, close out the event.

The Wild West Arena Foundation, which owns the grounds and received the shovel-ready money, is serving as the project’s general contractor.

The state’s shovel-ready program is funded by $100 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money and $15 million from Nebraska’s general fund.