KDWPT, Country Stampede to part ways; festival will stay in Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The popular Country Stampede music festival will be moving from Manhattan to Topeka — and changing its name.

Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla made the announcement Thursday hours before the event kicked off in Topeka.

Country Stampede has been held at Tuttle Creek State Park in Manhattan for 23 years. It was moved to Heartland Motorsports Park for this year’s event because of flooding at Tuttle Creek.

Experts estimated the three-day event brought $8 million to the Manhattan economy. It annually draws more than 100,000 fans to hear some of the biggest country stars.

This year’s event features 50 country acts, including Clint Black, Jake Owen and Jason Aldean. It is scheduled to run Thursday through Saturday.
The festival will be called the Heartland Stampede in the future.

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TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) and Country Stampede, LLC have mutually and amicably agreed to terminate the Special Event Permit Addendum dated March 26, 2018 under which the Country Stampede was to have been held at Tuttle Creek State Park this year, according to a media release from the KDWPT.

The 24th annual Kicker Country Stampede will be held from June 20-22 at Heartland Motorsports Park.

The confluence of two situations led to the decision, according to the release.

The unprecedented rainfall leading to flooding damage at Tuttle Creek State Park made it impossible to hold the concert at the scheduled time and the current economic outlook for music industry events combined with the high water event at Tuttle Creek impaired the financial viability of the Country Stampede operator

Under the termination agreement, KDWPT will refund the operator’s payment of $81,500.00 and the operator is no longer obligated to make any future payments.

KDWPT and Country Stampede, LLC have had a great relationship over the 23 years that Tuttle Creek State Park has hosted the event. Country Stampede has helped focus national and international attention on Kansas, the City of Manhattan and Tuttle Creek State Park which will have benefits for many years to come. We wish the operator well for the future.