REGINA – Canadian Western Agribition and the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association have confirmed the contract for hosting the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals Rodeo in Regina has been renewed through 2030.
The announcement comes on the same day that the 2025 event is set to kick off at the Brandt Centre, running for four nights, Wednesday through Saturday. The annual event features the top 10 athletes in each of the major rodeo events of the CPRA.
Denny Phipps, CEO of the CPRA, is excited not only about this year’s event but also about keeping the event in Regina for the longer term.
“Working with people like Shaun (Kindopp, CWA CEO) and the entire crew at Canadian Western Agribition, it’s something that you don’t get to experience every day,” Phipps said.
He called it exciting to “be able to lock this in until 2030, have some continuity, not worry about the ‘next contract, the next contract, the next contract.'”
Phipps said Kindopp and himself spoke a lot about wanting to “wanting to get this locked in” and be able to plan for the growth of this event.
“The production is second to none here, so we’re really, really excited and I know that we’ll see a lot of exciting events happen over the next five, six years. And with the opportunity for contestants to advance to the NFR Open, the money counts towards the Canadian standings, this really is a way to kick off their 2026 season, get a foothold in both the Canadian and the world standings.”
Kindopp said that previously they had done three year deals with the CPRA. They are excited about being able to host for a longer term on a more permanent basis.
“We want the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals home to be in Regina,” Kindopp said. “The investment that we’re making into that, I think, speaks a lot to that as well.”
He said the rodeo is “one of the signature events in Regina. It’s one of the hardest tickets to get at the moment.”
Kindopp also said the sellouts have been starting to start earlier. He said they had never sold out Friday and Saturday of the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals before Tuesday morning, but were able to do that this year.
As for why the event is consistently popular in Regina year in and year out, Kindopp pointed to the effort put into it.
“From my standpoint, I’ve got to say that it’s our staff and our team. It’s our volunteer base, our crew,” Kindopp said.
“We’re very unique as we hire a lot of our own crew that come and take over a lot of it. We push some people to the max, but they do a pretty good job. I think it was a couple years ago, in three days, we went from hosting Riderville (at the Grey Cup Festival) to having our barns fully set up. Our crew is a bit of a secret sauce, but again … Denny and I aren’t talking up here about a partnership if people are buying tickets and if the community is not supporting it.”
Phipps points to Agribition being a “fabric” of the area.
“It is what people point their eyes towards every year, and having that consistency and being well run… you can have the best rodeo in the world, the best event in the world, and if it’s not well run, people notice really quickly,” Phipps said.
He also pointed to the product that is on offer for the audience at the Brandt Centre.
“The contestants, obviously, it’s a hell of a rodeo. I’m not going to pull any punches. There’s a heck of a lot of great contestants here. Some of them are rolling straight from here to the national finals, literally leaving Saturday night and driving towards Vegas, but yeah, I think it’s the community in Regina and the people at Agribition that really do lead that, and being consistent, being well run, and year after year, giving people a good experience.”
The opening night will be free admission with seating on a first come first served basis. It will include Indigenous cultural performances, and also will also feature the crowning of the new Miss Rodeo Agribition.
