New Legacy Building Will Corral Eight Bars in Time for 2026 National Western Stock Show

On Sunday, the Cowboy Bar in the lower barns of the Hall of Education will pack up in anticipation of a move to the new, city-owned Livestock Center as the 119th National Western Stock Show ends and the massive National Western Center project continues.

But that won't be the only new bar on the grounds next year. The Western Stock Show Association’s 100,000-square-foot Legacy Building, which was designed by David Tryba and broke ground in February 2024, will be opening in time for the 120th National Western Stock Show in January 2026. It's being built right by the historic Livestock Exchange, where the Stockyard Saloon will be closing in April.

But the Legacy Building is providing a real consolation prize: a portion of the first floor will be home to the Legacy Saloon, which will be open to the public. The bar is being designed as an authentic, turn-of-the-last-century watering hole, complete with a small stage and tin ceiling. And while the space will be new, missing the careworn feeling of current Stock Show bars, the décor in the saloon will not be imitation cowboy — it's all coming from the archives of the Western Stock Show Association, giving it a “nostalgic, yet refined, feel,” according to that organization. The Legacy Saloon will also include a small stage and doors that open to an outdoor patio that is almost as large as the interior.

The focus of the saloon, though, will be where any true saloon’s focus should be: on the bar. So the Legacy Saloon will be offering a single dining option:  the Legacy Sandwich, a tenderloin sandwich topped with a signature horseradish sauce.

The Legacy Building will also hold the offices of the association and the National Western Stock Show itself, as well as an art gallery where the National Western's impressive art collection will be shown year-round. The annual Coors art show will move there, too. And yes, there will be even more bars, but only the Legacy Saloon will be open to the public.

The other seven — the Saddle Bar, the Spur Bar, the Brand Bar, the Yard Bar, the Stock Show Legends Bar, the Rodeo Bar and the National Western Club Bar — will each have their own Western theme and decor. And when the Stock Show isn't in town, those bars and other spaces in the Legacy Building will be available for rent.

“The Legacy Building is our new world headquarters. It's a new home for the National Western, and it's home to everything from our art collection to our staff, our archives," says Angela Lieurance, director of the Honoring the Legacy campaign for the National Western Center, which is raising funds for the Legacy Building and other projects. "And when Pete Coors is your campaign chairman, there's a lot of emphasis on the bars, and they're all stunning."

See for yourself in these renderings: