Historic Fort Worth Landmark Gets a $50.5 Million Facelift — Inside Will Rogers Coliseum’s Transformation

When the 2026 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo returns on January 16, fans will step into a revitalized Will Rogers Coliseum. The first phase of an ambitious $50.5 million renovation of Will Rogers Memorial Center will be completed by the end of the year, marking the most significant upgrade in the building’s 90-year history.

FWSSR communications director Matt Brockman tells PaperCity Fort Worth that the improvements — from expanded concourses and better sightlines to modernized restrooms and updated HVAC systems — were long overdue, given the coliseum’s year-round schedule hosting Western equestrian competitions.

“It is going to bring an air of freshness and excitement in the coliseum’s concourse,” Brockman says. “The coliseum is arguably busier than at any time in its history. Just having the opportunity to create an open-air environment is going to do several things. It is going to brighten that concourse. For individuals entering the coliseum, they are going to see, hear, and feel the excitement that is occurring on the arena floor.”

How $50.5 Million in Upgrades Is Reimagining a Fort Worth Icon

The concourse is being expanded by removing outdated rooms, opening new sightlines into the arena, and creating brighter, more welcoming public spaces. Restrooms are being completely rebuilt, and accessibility upgrades are underway.

New multipurpose spaces at the south end of the building — once used as warehouses — are being converted into meeting rooms, dining areas, and food-service facilities, broadening the Coliseum’s usefulness beyond the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. On the outside, crews are restoring original design details, from historically accurate doors to the aluminum ribs that defined its roofline. Together, these changes are ensuring Will Rogers remains functional well into its second century. Brockman says the FWSSR is contributing $5 million to the project.

“The Will Rogers Coliseum, auditorium, and tower, going back to 1936, have been the anchors of the Cultural District,” he says. “We think about the district with Dickies Arena on the south end and the art museums on the north. [Will Rogers Memorial Center is] the centerpiece — the nucleus of what evolved into an amazing cultural district.”

A Landmark with Deep Roots in Fort Worth’s History

For nearly a century, Will Rogers Coliseum has stood at the center of professional rodeo and western equestrian competition by hosting more landmark events than almost any other venue in the country. The building first made its mark with the Texas Centennial Rodeo in 1936, followed by the FWSSR’s move there in 1944. By 1962, the National Cutting Horse Association had relocated its futurity to the Coliseum, a decision that would shape Fort Worth’s identity as a premier equestrian destination for decades to come.

Over the years, signature NCHA events like the Super Stakes and Summer Spectacular, along with championships staged by the American Paint Horse Association, the U.S. Team Roping Championships, and the National Reined Cow Horse Association, have filled the schedule.

Brockman says his group is grateful to all the associations that adjusted their schedules and competitions to make use of alternative arena spaces in the area while construction shut down the coliseum for most of this year. Renovations will continue over the next 10 years, leading up to 2036, when the Memorial Center celebrates its centennial and Texas celebrates its bicentennial. Future projects will focus on updating the Will Rogers Auditorium, he added.

“What I’m excited about is when we throw the doors open, not just for the stock show but for all the horse shows that are coming back,” he says. “They are going to love it. All of this will lead up to 2036, when we are going to be celebrating 200 years of Texas and 100 years of some facilities that are near and dear to the hearts of many people here in Fort Worth, Texas.”