Just 12 hours after the rodeo arena’s grandstands burned late Monday night, the Philomath Frolic & Rodeo’s board of directors announced that the rodeo will go on as planned on July 7-9.
According to a post on the organization’s Facebook page, an inspection of the grandstands and overhead structure on Tuesday morning confirmed for the board that it can safely have fans on the rodeo grounds for next week’s festivities.
“A demolition crew led by Dennis Gibson Construction will begin removing the southern section of the grandstands that were destroyed in the fire tomorrow morning (Wednesday). Temporary stands may be able to be placed in the opening to provide some of the lost seating capacity, but regardless of being able to replace the seats in less then one week. the rodeo performances for Thursday, Friday and Saturday will go on.”
The Frolic & Rodeo board announced that an account at Oregon State Credit Union’s Philomath branch was set up to accept financial donations toward rebuilding the grandstands. For those interested in contributing, stop in at the branch or call 541-714-4000. Contributions can also be made through the Frolic & Rodeo website.