Natrona County sees $32.4 million in business development impact

CASPER, Wyo. — The local Natrona County economy — including hotels, stores, restaurants, gas stations, activities and more — saw an economic impact of approximately $32.4 million in 2024 from business development efforts, Visit Casper recently reported.

“Business development — including meetings, groups, sports and other events — are a key part of our marketing efforts at Visit Casper,” Visit Casper sales project manager Cait O’Neal said. “Through the sales and services department, we’re able to bring year-round events to the community and help drive room nights and nonresident spending in all four seasons.”

While business development efforts contributed more than $32 million to the local economy, the combined efforts of sales and services and marketing resulted in Casper seeing record-breaking lodging tax collections in July, September and October 2024.

Throughout the past year, Visit Casper helped support longtime events, including the College National Finals Rodeo, state high school tournaments and the Visit Casper Marathon.

Additional events included the Wyoming Nurses Association Conference, the Professional Land Surveyor of Wyoming Fall Technical Session, NJCAA National Basketball Tournament and the Wyoming State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Looking ahead to 2025, upcoming events include:

• NJCAA Tournament: 1,000 room nights, $1+ million economic impact
• CNFR College National Finals Rodeo: 1,909 room nights, $2.5 million economic impact
• Wyoming High School Activities Association State Tournaments (marching band, volleyball, spirit, wrestling, track, basketball): $24 million economic impact

Casper also has a few new developments that are set to open in 2025, including:

• Wyo Sports Ranch: opening in January 2025, this 131,000-square-foot facility will host sporting events, tournaments, conventions and more
• Hyatt Place Hotel: opening in 2025, it will feature 200 new hotel rooms

Related