Although Calgary's first agricultural fair occurred in 1886, it was in 1889, following lengthy negotiations with federal officials, that the Calgary Agricultural Society took title of a parcel of land along the Elbow River and south of town, for the purpose of promoting agriculture and demonstrating the rich resources of the Calgary district. The land was sold for $2.50 an acre, with the condition that the land could never be subdivided and sold as town lots, ensuring the longevity of Calgary's first park location. The first of the fairs centered around the town's dominant industry - horses - and were used to promote Calgary's role as a livestock market centre. Despite improvements to the fair grounds in the 1890's, the exhibitions were of limited success and by the 1895 recession, population decline and failed crops resulted in the Society losing its property and the site reverting to pasture. By 1900, economic optimism was renewed and the exhibition concept rejuvenated. In that year, the Calgary Agricultural Society was reorganized as a non-dividend paying, joint stock company called the Inter-Western Pacific Exhibition Company. The land was eventually bought back by Calgary's City Council and leased back to the Inter-Western Pacific Company. Two successful exhibitions in 1899 and 1900 influenced the city's decision to support future exhibitions and the re-establishment of the area as a municipal reserve. Known then as the Victoria Park Grounds, the area became Calgary's main meeting place and a city and community resource used year round by sporting groups, exhibitors and societies. In 1908, the Dominion Exhibition was successfully staged, elevating the Exhibition's status to a significant national event and setting the stage for what was to come. In 1912 Wyoming cowboy Guy Weadick, along with four Alberta ranchers, A.E. Cross, Pat Burns, A.J. Maclean and George Lane (The Big Four) added an outdoor rodeo to the fair christened "The Stampede". Not an initial success, the Stampede struggled to gain significance over the next 10 years. Over time, however, with enthusiastic local support and the distribution of profits to worthy organizations, the Stampede became an annual occurrence. In 1923, the Exhibition and Stampede merged to become "The Calgary Exhibition & Stampede, making a winning combination of great rodeo excitement, the agricultural industry of Southern Alberta and the first chuckwagon races under competitive rules in history. The event grew in importance in the community, and over the forthcoming years, the Exhibition & Stampede entered into an enormous period of expansion and international recognition, becoming known the world over as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". Both in the early years and today, the Victoria Park Grounds (today's Stampede Grounds) has been a centre for community sporting and social activity. One of Calgary's most developed recreational areas, the grounds and the exhibitions staged here brought added services and character to the thriving community even prior to 1914. The Victoria Park Arena, built in 1911, boosted Calgary's role as a sporting center in the West under the management of Lloyd Turner in the 1920s & 1930s. The Arena was replaced by the historic Stampede Corral in 1950 for the purposes of establishing a senior men's hockey team for the Western Canada Hockey League, and the venue was the focus of Calgary's sporting and cultural activities until the construction of the Jubilee Auditorium in1965. With Calgary's successful bid for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games and the arrival of the NHL hockey franchise, the Calgary Flames, the 17,000 seat Saddledome was opened in 1983 and today hosts big ticket concerts, rodeos, ice shows, circuses, conventions, and more.