Park County is starting to look like one of the favorites to land a state shooting complex.

At a Park County commissioner meeting last week, a few of the leaders of the county effort provided an update on their progress.

“It’s been said this is Park County’s to lose,” said Commissioner Lee Livingston, who’s representing the commission on the local working group.

The shooting complex is projected to come to fruition in early 2026, assuming approval by the Wyoming Legislature in the 2025 legislative session. The state will select the preferred site and invest $10 million in state funding to complete the facility.

The local working group has already started looking for an appropriate site, the needed infrastructure and putting together a pitch for Cody to be the selected location.

“The first task was to see if we had a site,” Livingston said, “and it appears we have two sites.”

Livingston said the two large parcels of state land are roughly 15 minutes from Cody — one along Wyo. Highway 120 South between Cody and Meeteetse, and the other near Wyo. Highway 120 North, south of its intersection with Wyo. Highway 296 (the Chief Joseph Highway).

Livingston said the group wanted to shy away from federal land due to the extra requirements that would be needed. Both potential locations include more than enough state land for the high end of the required space — 2,500 acres — although Livingston said they’re expecting to use around 2,000 acres.

“I’ve been out to the site in Park County and I don’t know of anyplace better,” said Rep. John Winter (R-Thermopolis).

The legislator, whose district covers southern Park County, has been involved in the state shooting complex process since the early stages. Fellow Rep. Sandy Newsome (R-Cody) also attended the meeting and is on the local working group.

According to the group, the proposed Buffalo Bill Shooting Complex and Education Center would be a world class competitive events facility. It would host state of the art shooting venues for recreational and competitive handgun, rifle, shotgun and archery shooters. The complex would have the capacity to host local, regional and national events of up to 500 competitors.

Cody Mayor Matt Hall said the need to host hundreds of people makes Cody a good candidate: The county has 65 lodging properties with 2,802 rooming units, according to working group documents, as well as 52 restaurants, 52 fast food outlets, 51 food trucks and 15 caterers available to meet the needs of an influx of guests.

Hall also noted the proposal has the support from Powell Mayor John Wetzel and Powell Economic Partnership Executive Director Rebekah Burns.

“This will benefit all of the Big Horn Basin,” Commissioner Lloyd Thiel said, “even Hot Springs [County].”

Thermopolis has another potential site in the running, along with Fremont County. However, if those proposals fail to advance, Winter said the Fremont and Hot Springs groups would prefer Park County over Casper, another strong contender.

Hall said the local group is working hard on a strong proposal. In addition to noting area amenities, the pitch will highlight the fact that Park County boasts the highest number of gun manufacturers per capita among the state’s 23 counties.

The area is also a favorite of many top shooters, Hall said — something he and Forward Cody CEO James Klessens discovered while attending the annual SHOT Show convention.

The working group will submit their initial proposal to the State Task Force on March 1. Immediately following that submission, a more robust final proposal will be developed for submittal and review in late summer. The State Task Force will make a recommendation to the Legislature in November.

A final decision is expected in March of 2025.