Community discusses new closures at Cheyenne’s Frontier Park

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A handful of community members gathered at the Cheyenne Frontier Days headquarters Tuesday evening to discuss recent closures due to graffiti in Frontier Park and liability concerns.

While the park’s primary use is during the “Daddy of ‘em All” rodeo in July, the park grounds have remained open to the public during the off-season until earlier this month, when a series of graffiti incidents led CFD leaders to close the park to public access.

“We’ve been warned by our legal team for years that this park needed to be restricted just because of the liability we have,” Cheyenne Frontier Days CEO Tom Hirsig told those at Tuesday’s meeting.

The closures will apply to all of Frontier Park, excluding the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, Chute 10 Mercantile store, the Event Center and Tennis Center, which will remain open for business at their usual hours.

Instances of graffiti in the park increased in the last few weeks, with the grandstands and Old Frontier Town both being subject to crude messages and vandalism.

Cheyenne Police Chief Mark Francisco said that while the police department has a few leads, the identity of the vandals is still unknown.

According to prior statements made by Hirsig, the decision to restrict public access was based on the need to minimize the risk to members of the public and to decrease the instances of theft and vandalism in the park.

Unlike the adjacent Lions Park, which is owned and managed by the city, CFD leases Frontier Park from the city of Cheyenne and is liable for what happens on the property. Over the years, CFD has allowed the public to access the property during non-event times.

This story was published on November 20, 2024.