In a move to keep and attract major livestock events and the money they bring to the region, the Tulsa Fairgrounds buys new equine stalls for the Expo Square complex. The fairgrounds used nearly $618,000 in dedicated funds for more than two-thousand livestock stalls, built by inmates with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. The project began in 2010, and the final new stalls are just now being put in place.
Some stalls being replaced were nearly 50 years old, and Bob O’Bannon, Director of the Breeder’s Invitational, says that’s a danger to the horses.
It’s estimated the Breeder’s Invitational and National Arabian shows have an economic impact of over $43-million dollars to the Tulsa area each year.