The Scottsbluff City Council voted to approve a $20,000 funding request from Old West Balloon Fest organizers to help defray costs for the August 2025 festival. The motion passed on a roll call vote.

Colleen Johnson, representing Old West Balloon Fest, presented the request and described the festival’s economic and tourism impact, saying the event draws visitors from outside the county and produces strong hotel occupancy during the event. Johnson said the festival was awarded the national championship (Nationals) for 2026–2028 after a competitive bidding process. “We were competing against three other cities; one of the locations was offering a hundred thousand dollar price package, and we were only able to afford 25,000 so we were able to still receive the award,” Johnson said. She told council the festival’s budget typically increases substantially during the nationals years and that organizers are asking area partners to contribute.

Johnson outlined program changes for 2025: extending activities to include Sunday mass ascension and a cowboy church, moving the night glow and many large activities to Mitchell Airfield for logistical and insurance reasons, expanding the youth ballooning camp and discovery tent, and consolidating event locations to reduce liability and improve vendor experience. She said pilot hotel rooms were a major line item and that paying for pilots’ lodging helps secure participation.

A safety director for the festival told the council he has “0 financial gain or interest” in the event but serves as safety director to oversee operations; he described the drone show as a contingency that helped when weather limited balloon launches in a prior year.

Motion and vote: The motion to approve the $20,000 funding request was made by Councilmember Solomon and seconded by Councilmember Phillips. Roll call votes recorded were Phillips—yes; Solomon—yes; McCarran—yes; Stricker—yes. The motion carried unanimously.

City staff will follow up on the funding disbursement; organizers said they will continue marketing partnerships and will ask for increased grants in coming years as Nationals increases event scale.