Construction crews have made visible progress on the Franklin Rodeo Plaza at Jim Warren Park, with walls, stonework and sidewalks now in place at the site. The City of Franklin shared renderings of the planned project along with photos of the current build on Friday, noting that landscaping, flag poles, statue placement and other finishing touches are still to come.
According to a post from the City of Franklin, TN - Municipal Government on Facebook, the plaza sits within Jim Warren Park and is being built to eventually include a bronze statue of a cowboy riding a bucking saddle bronc. The city dedicated a 1.4-acre triangular parcel of the park for the project, according to a December 2025 report from the Tennessee Municipal League, which also detailed plans for park benches, custom lighting, historical markers and a walking trail with interpretive signage tracing the rodeo's history. Jim Warren Park itself sits at the intersection of Boyd Mill Avenue and Culberson Boulevard.
Timed to a 75-Year Milestone
The plaza and monument project was created to mark the 75th anniversary of the Franklin Rodeo this coming May, according to an April report from FranklinIs. The rodeo dates back to 1949, when it was staged behind the former Franklin High School on Columbia Avenue. Williamson Source has reported that general admission for that first rodeo cost just 60 cents a ticket, with proceeds going toward high school band uniforms, and the inaugural rodeo parade was led by then-Tennessee Governor Gordon Browning.
The rodeo was established by the Franklin Noon Rotary Club, which was chartered in January 1948 under founding president Judge Jim Warren — the same local leader for whom Jim Warren Park is named. That club began with 14 members and has since grown to more than 160, per the outlet's reporting. Today the event draws roughly 16,000 spectators over its three-night run each year, an attendance figure that exceeds Franklin's entire municipal population back in 1949, and it is billed as one of the largest rodeos east of the Mississippi River.
A Public-Private Partnership
The plaza is being funded through a public-private partnership between the City of Franklin and the Rotary Club of Franklin at Noon. In an August 2025 Facebook statement, Franklin Ward 4 Alderman Patrick Baggett clarified that the city is donating the park land while the Rotary Club raises private donations to pay for the bronze statue.
That fundraising matters beyond the plaza itself. The Franklin Rodeo remains the Rotary Club of Franklin at Noon's main annual fundraiser, generating more than $300,000 in charitable grants distributed to over 60 local organizations each year, according to Williamson Source. Beneficiaries reportedly include local schools, health programs and youth nonprofits across the community.
Plaza Won't Bring Live Rodeo Events Back
Franklin Rodeo organizers have moved to clear up a point of potential confusion: the new plaza will not mark a return of live rodeo competition to Jim Warren Park. In an April video statement posted to Facebook, organizers explained that while Jim Warren Park hosted the rodeo for decades, the annual competition itself now takes place at the indoor Williamson County Ag Expo Center, which accommodates larger crowds and offers protection from the weather. The Jim Warren Park site will instead function as a permanent memorial space rather than an event arena.
Jim Warren Park remains one of Franklin's busiest recreation hubs regardless of the rodeo's move. The 58-acre park includes 12 lighted baseball fields, four football fields, eight tennis courts, a skate park and a catch-and-release fishing pond, according to a July park guide from FranklinIs. The rodeo plaza will occupy a small triangular slice of that larger footprint, giving park visitors a permanent nod to the event's local roots even as the live competition plays out elsewhere.
