Gold Card Room Tradition to Continue in Arlington
If the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo had a VIP section, the Gold Card Room would be it, since it takes 20 years of PRCA membership to earn Gold Card status. Past competitors, stock contractors, contract personnel and more gather in the Gold Card Room to watch the NFR and have an unofficial reunion of sorts.
“It’s important because it brings together a lot of people who have supported rodeo and been members for 30-40 years,” said eight-time World Champion Bull Rider Don Gay. “We have people who take pride in being a member for 20-plus years who never qualified for the NFR, but these are the people who helped make the NFR. When you continue to support the association, you can cock your hat to the side a bit more, because that’s really cool.”
Gay, who won bull riding world titles in 1974-77, 1979-81 and 1984, was among the inaugural class of inductees to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979. He has been a Gold Card member for about 30 years, but working at the Finals limits his appearances in the Gold Card Room.
“I was always a real positive mental attitude kind of guy – don’t dwell on things we don’t have control over,” Gay said. “This deal (COVID-19) the administration has to deal with, this is a huge undertaking, and that can’t be stated enough. It’s not just putting on a rodeo.”
Gold Card members will be able to continue the tradition of catching up with old friends while watching the NFR from the Gold Card Room, but there will be changes due to COVID-19, which led to the event’s relocation to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
“I think everything is working out as good as it can and I’m sure it’ll be a good place for it,” stock contractor Jim Sutton said. “I was a firm believer in going to Las Vegas (in 1985), but this is just a different circumstance and everyone made the best of it.”
Sutton has been a staple in the Gold Card Room since 1970.
“I’m not sure if we’ll go this year, but it’d be our 500th perf in a row,” Sutton said. “With this COVID business, we’re not looking for trouble.”
A rodeo ticket will be necessary since the Gold Card Room will be inside the stadium’s “All You Can Eat Club.”
Like the rest of the stadium, masks are required inside the Gold Card Room and are to be worn except when eating. Social distancing will be observed with tables spaced out and a limit of six people per table.
The Gold Card Room will be open only to current Gold Card members who have renewed their membership. Guests are limited to one per member.
Globe Life Field has a “no bag” policy, which means bags of any kind are prohibited, including purses. The only exceptions are medical bags and for those with babies, a diaper bag under a certain size with limited liquids in the bag .
There will not be a full meal in the Gold Card Room this year, but there will be drinks (coffee, tea, sodas, bottled water) and hors d’oeuvres or desserts. There will be a cash bar.
“It’s an awful nice way for the association to give them thanks,” Gay said. “If you have to spend, spend it on something worthwhile like the loyal membership.”
Each round of the Wrangler NFR can be watched from the Gold Card Room’s large screens, and trivia games with prizes will be held.
“It’s handy, more than anything,” Sutton said. “You see everyone that you see every year. It’s an ideal place to eat and then walk to the rodeo, there’s nothing better for our end.”
The room will open at 5:15 p.m. each day and close immediately following the end of the performance.
Gold Card members planning to attend are asked to RSVP to ensure enough food is provided each night. For more information, contact the ProRodeo Hall of Fame at 719-528-4714.
Courtesy of PRCA