Director of Booking

The National Western Center is a 250-acre, year-round campus in North Denver that connects the region's agricultural heritage with world-class live entertainment, sports, and civic programming. The Center is anchored by the Livestock Center's CoBank Arena - a 25,284-square-foot arena floor configurable from 3,000 fixed seats up to 6,100 for concerts, up to 5,200 for end-stage productions, with 12 premium suites and 65'6" of rigging clearance - alongside the Stockyards Event Center, the Equestrian Center, and the Festival Grounds, a 20-acre outdoor plaza built for concerts, festivals, large-scale trade shows, and community events. Home to the 120-year-old National Western Stock Show and a growing slate of concerts, family shows, and cultural festivals, the Campus represents one of the most ambitious venue campuses under development in the country, with more than 2.2 million square feet of indoor and outdoor event space at build-out.

The opportunity:

NWC is in search of a talented Director of Booking. The Director of Booking will lead booking strategy, promoter and agency relationships, and calendar optimization across the CoBank Arena, the Plaza/Festival Grounds, and the broader National Western Center campus. This is a senior, revenue-driving leadership role responsible for building a diverse year-round programming mix - concerts, festivals, family shows, sports, and other ticketed events - that complements the campus's anchor tenant, the National Western Stock Show, while maximizing venue utilization and profitability across indoor and outdoor spaces. The Director will manage relationships with national promoters and agencies (Live Nation, AEG, Outback, Feld and comparable partners), develop the campus's identity as an emerging Denver-market destination, and work closely with sales, operations, marketing, finance and the leadership team at the National Western Center Authority to align booking strategy with long-term brand positioning. This role is ideal for a seasoned booking professional or promoter-side operator who understands venue economics, deal structures, and the Denver/Front Range market, who wants to help shape programming strategy for a campus still in its early, high-growth years.

This is a multifaceted job with a broad spectrum of opportunities for professional development. You'll join a small, nimble, collaborative, creative, and entrepreneurial team as we accelerate growth of a new events hub and innovation campus in Denver, Colorado. Help us make the reimagined National Western Center campus among the most desirable event spaces in the Denver market!

What you will do:

• Build and maintain relationships with promoters, agencies, and tour producers to develop diverse, high-quality programming across the National Western Center with a heavy focus on CoBank Arena and the Festival Grounds/Plaza.
• Own the campus's multi-year event pipeline, balancing the Stock Show's seasonal footprint with concerts, festivals, sporting events, and other bookings the rest of the year.
• Negotiate license agreements and contracts with promoters, agents, and producers in the best interest of the campus, and lead settlements for assigned events.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with the National Western Center Authority's, tenants, government partners, and the broader Denver entertainment and civic community to encourage regular use of the facility.
• Analyze sell-through, margins, and repeat-partnership data to continually refine the programming mix and maximize venue utilization.
• Collaborate with marketing on on-sale strategy, audience development, and show positioning for each event.
• Partner with operations and production teams to scale events appropriately across indoor arena and outdoor event space configurations, and manage operational feasibility.
• Develop the booking department's annual operating calendar and activity schedule, and contribute attendance and revenue projections.
• Support the Chief Executive Officer in developing and administering the booking department's operating budget; maintain accurate, current revenue forecasts.
• Identify and pursue new event opportunities, including underserved genres, cultural communities, and emerging event formats suited to a 250-acre agricultural and civic campus.
• Develop and lead a small team of booking staff as the department scales with the campus.
• Represent the NWCA at industry conferences (IEBA, Pollstar Live, and similar) and build the venue's reputation among agents, promoters, and artists.
• Serve as manager on duty for select events as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.