More than 2,000 acres about 7 miles south of Cody has been chosen as the site for a $10 million Wyoming state shooting complex, but the lead won’t start flying there until 2026.

“The site has lots of topography and opportunity for shooting events (and) for shooting on steep slopes and across canyons,” state Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.

Hicks co-sponsored a bill with the 2023 Legislature authorizing the money for the shooting complex. That bill also authorized the creation of a task force to oversee site selection, which has been ongoing this year.

The task force, which Hicks co-chairs, voted Monday to approve the Park County site, he said, beating out a proposal from Campbell County.

Won’t Open Until At Least 2026

Nine Wyoming communities entered a competitive race for the shooting complex, and Park County and Campbell County were announced as the two finalists last month.

The $10 million for the shooting complex was set aside in a special fund that can’t be touched until the Legislature says so.

The money includes $5 million from the state’s general fund, $2.5 million from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and $2.5 million from the Wyoming Office of Tourism.

If all goes as planned, the Legislature will release the money and greenlight the project in Park County during its 2025 session, Hicks said.

Then construction could begin at the site by spring 2025, he said. Park County has earmarked 2,036 acres about 7.5 miles south of Cody along Highway 120, also known as the Meeteetse Highway.

There could be a ribbon cutting and first shooting events at the new complex during the spring or early summer 2026, Hicks said.

The Draw Of Cody Sealed The Deal

Park and Cambell counties both had excellent proposals, members of the task force said, according to a video recording of Monday’s meeting.

But Cody’s existing draw as a premier tourist destination tipped the scales.

“The draw is what smoked Gillette,” said task force member Dave Glenn, who is director of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources.

That’s despite Campell County having better available infrastructure, he added.

However, there’s some concern that people coming to Park County for shooting competitions won’t visit other parts of Wyoming, said task force member Nish Goicolea.

Part of the intent of bringing a world-class competitive shooting complex to Wyoming was to draw visitors to other areas of the state, added Goicolea, who is the communications and education chief for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

“I think if you bring people to Campbell County, they will end up in Park County at the end of the day. If you being them to Park County they won’t end up in Campbell County,” she said.

Making Wyoming A Regional Draw

From the beginning, Hicks and other boosters of the shooting complex have noted that several other neighboring states, such as Colorado and South Dakota, have expansive, multimillion-dollar shooting facilities.

Far from being mere target ranges, they attract top-tier national and international shooting competitions, which bring in some serious money.

With Wyoming’s reputation as a Second Amendment-friendly state, it only makes sense for the Cowboy State to have a shooting complex. And Wyoming’s facility should rival, and perhaps out-class, others in the region, Hicks and other boosters have argued.

The vision for the Wyoming state shooting complex includes ranges for a huge variety of shooting sports, such as extreme long-range rifle, pistols, tactical shooting competitions, shotgun sports, archery and more.

Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.

By Eric Blum

Published: 05:55 BST, 23 July 2024 | Updated: 05:55 BST, 23 July 2024

Amanda Balionis is enjoying some downtime after the Open Championship in a remote ranch in Wyoming, while Rory McIlroy is with reconciled wife Erica Stoll on a romantic getaway in Portugal. 

Balionis shared photos and video from her trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a popular tourist spot in the Mountain Time Zone, to Instagram. 

Balionis has been in the headlines for the past few months, closely associated with McIlroy, caught in the middle during his divorce drama with Stoll. 

On May 13, McIlroy filed for divorce from Stoll, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’, in a blindside to the golf world. 

McIlroy’s team confirmed the news of his split days before his opening round at this year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky, the course where he won his last major tournament in 2014. 

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Balionis is enjoying a vacation in Jackson Hole Wyoming after the Open Championship

McIlroy and wife Erica Stoll are having some deserved rest and relaxation in Portugal

During the month McIlroy was seemingly back on the market, romantic rumors connected Balionis with McIlroy, with the Northern Irishman reportedly being spotted in her hometown of San Diego. 

Balionis herself is reportedly going through a divorce with former NFL quarterback Bryn Renner, being seen without her wedding ring on earlier this year and in the Wyoming photos. 

McIlroy and Stoll reversed course on June 11, calling off their divorce, with the couple having worked through the differences that made a split public knowledge. 

McIlroy’s return to the golf course as a married man was one of the most heartbreaking defeats of his career. 

Two usually easy putts were missed by McIlroy, costing him June’s US Open to Bryson DeChambeau.  

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Since reuniting, Stoll and McIlroy have been seen together in public together multiple times, including an occasion with 3-year-old daughter Poppy, who will turn 4 next month. 

Now, the couple has been spotted on vacation in Southern Portugal, including Algarve. 

Back in America, Balionis appears to be in good spirits, documenting her trip, that includes a visit to Yellowstone National Park. 

Mostly sunny in Wyoming on Tuesday. Smoky or hazy in much of the state at times. Highs from the low 80s to the upper 90s. Lows from the upper 40s to the mid 60s. 

Central:  

Casper:  Areas of smoke, otherwise sunny today with a high near 91 and partly cloudy overnight with areas of smoke before 10 p.m. and a low near 62.  

Lander:  Areas of smoke, slight chance of rain after 2 p.m., otherwise increasing clouds today with a high near 88. Gradually becoming mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke before 8 p.m. and a low near 60.    

Glenrock:  Sunny and hot today with a high near 94 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 58.  

 Southwest:  

Evanston:  Patchy smoke, sunny today with a high near 86 and patchy smoke, mostly clear overnight with a low near 51.

Rock Springs:  Areas of smoke, otherwise sunny today with a high near 90 and areas of smoke, otherwise partly cloudy overnight with a low near 57 

Cokeville:  Areas of smoke after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 90. Areas of smoke before 2 a.m., otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 49.

Western Wyoming:  

Pinedale:  Areas of smoke after 1 p.m., slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 50.

Afton:  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 89 and areas of smoke between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 52. 

La Barge:  Areas of smoke after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 84 and areas of smoke before 10 p.m., otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 47.

Northwest:  

Dubois:  Areas of smoke after 11 a.m., chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 84. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 53.

Jackson:  Areas of smoke after noon, otherwise sunny today with a high near 89 and areas of smoke before 7 p.m., otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 47.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park:  Areas of smoke after noon, slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise sunny today with a high near 82 and areas of smoke, otherwise partly cloudy overnight with a low near 46.

Bighorn Basin:  

Thermopolis:  Areas of smoke, otherwise sunny today with a high near 95 and areas of smoke before 7 p.m., otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 61.

Cody:  Areas of smoke in the morning, slight chance of rain after 3 p.m. and increasing clouds today with a high near 91. Areas of smoke after 4 a.m. overnight, otherwise mostly clear with a low near 64. 

Worland:  Areas of smoke, sunny today with a high near 95 and mostly clear overnight with areas of smoke between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. and a low near 56.  

North Central:  

Buffalo:  Areas of smoke, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 91 and areas of smoke overnight, otherwise partly cloudy with a low near 67.

Sheridan:  Widespread haze, otherwise mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 98. Widespread haze before 9 p.m., otherwise partly cloudy overnight with a low near 56.

Story:  Widespread haze, otherwise mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 92. Widespread haze before 9 p.m., otherwise partly cloudy overnight with a low near 62.

Northeast:  

Gillette:  Widespread haze, otherwise sunny today with a high near 93 and widespread haze, otherwise mostly clear overnight with a low near 62 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

Sundance:  Widespread haze, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 88. Mostly clear overnight with widespread haze and a low near 62.

Upton:  Widespread haze, otherwise sunny today with a high near 93. Widespread haze overnight, otherwise mostly clear with a low near 61.

Eastern Plains:  

Torrington:  Sunny and hot today with a high near 93 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 58. 

Douglas:  Sunny and hot today with a high near 94 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 57.

Guernsey:  Sunny and hot today with a high near 94 and mostly clear with a low near 61.

Southeast:  

Cheyenne:  Sunny today with a high near 87 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 57. 

Laramie:  Sunny today with a high near 83 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 52.

Medicine Bow:  Sunny today with a high near 86 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 52.

South Central:  

Rawlins:  Sunny today with a high near 87 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 55. 

Saratoga:  Sunny today with a high near 86 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 50.  

Baggs:  Sunny and hot today with a high near 90 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 50.