Business View Magazine | May/June 2022

106 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5 historic ranches competing in ranch events,” Johnson explains. “And we had to cancel it. We were very disappointed at not being able to open up our brand new, pretty building.” But the Expo Center was fortunate in that they didn’t have to shut down completely. The local judge allowed the City of Abilene to declare a state of emergency because of COVID, so the Center fell under the city’s guidance. The Mayor and City Manager of Abilene let them continue with certain events, as long as they worked within the guidelines of the state of Texas. And so they proceeded, with caution. They hosted the Texas High School Rodeo Finals in June of 2020. Instead of the typical ten regions gathering to compete, they spread it out, bringing in only two regions at a time. Johnson notes, “It was a real abbreviated event but we were happy to be able to have the doors open and have those kids try to be normal and compete in something they had worked hard for all year long.” and out of the Coliseum. Taylor County was once again asked to vote on a bond to fund this expansion in 2016, and the citizens passed a $55 million dollar bond renovation by a whopping 72%. That speaks to the importance of the Expo Center both to the people and the economy of Abilene. Johnson recalls, “In 2017, they started the livestock barn, which is called The First Financial Pavilion that is two football fields in size and was completed in 2018. Then they started the Taylor Telecom Arena, the new facility for dirt events.” The Taylor Telecom Arena is a 330’ x 460’ facility with a 140’ x 350’ competition arena and 5,603 seats, completed in April of 2020. At which time, like everyone else in the spring of 2020, the Expo Center team had to pivot. The first event they had scheduled for their new building, which is also one of their huge fundraisers each year, was the Western Heritage Classic. “It’s a very prestigious event with ten Simple solutions for complex designs. CONSULTING DESIGNING ENGINEERING Structural • Civil • Architectural 2630 South Jefferson Mt. Pleasant, Texas 800.527.8616 Ext. 238 www.PriefertComplexDesigns.com First Financial Bank is proud to support and partner with the Taylor County Expo Center. YOU FIRST | FFIN.com Jim Goldston Senior Vice President NMLS# 1145005 Evan Harris Executive Vice President NMLS# 493101 Steve Waller Senior Vice President NMLS# 1145005 MEMBER FDIC