The Fabulous Lazy E Arena – just southeast of Guthrie and northeast of Edmond/Oklahoma City – was opened in November of 1984, just in time for the ’84 National Finals Steer Roping Finals. The originator of the Lazy E, E.K. Gaylord II had a vision that both the National Finals Steer Roping Finals and the National Finals Rodeo would happen the same time, in the same area, creating the most epic days rodeo had seen. While the plan only worked for one year, as the NFR moved to Vegas in ’85, the legacy and standards EK II set from the beginning still carry on today.
