Patrick Giles

In early 2023, the Wyoming Legislature approved the first $10 million to fund a Wyoming State Shooting Complex. Soon after, a group of people formed in the county to push for the complex to come to Park County. 

In the ensuing months a state task force began to look at the potential sites and in the summer of 2024 the task force chose Park County’s site south of Cody amidst the hills as the top pick. Then the work really began as a board was formed. The funding survived a legislative battle in 2025 when the funding in the supplemental budget was scrapped along with the budget itself, leading legislators to scramble to retrieve at least some of the promised money, and then work began to design a “world class” facility. 

Now, with design work just about wrapped up, major roads largely in place and with the rest of the hoped for funding after another legislative session, the Wyoming State Shooting Complex Joint Powers Board is preparing for an official groundbreaking. 

That has been scheduled for April 25, at 3 p.m., at the site of where the main building will be located. 

“We appreciate any of the public who come out,” board chair Glenn Ross said. 

He added that Gov. Mark Gordon, an early supporter of the project, is scheduled to attend. 

Cody Chamber Director Jennifer Thoma, who is helping to put on the event, said it will be a “bring your own chair event.”

The milestone will occur roughly a year after the joint powers board was first formed and nearly years since a task force had begun work to push for Park County to be chosen as the location for the complex. 

Sen. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, who has done as much as anyone in the state Legislature to secure all the funding deemed necessary for the project, told board members at Thursday’s meeting how helpful they were in Cheyenne and how much work they’ve done to get the project to the point of an official groundbreaking. 

“You know, I appreciate all your hard work,” he said. “I kept telling the legislators, they don't know how hard you've been working.”

The groundbreaking will take place as work is being done on the site. The next big project is to create the pistol bays and a road to the long range shooting range. 

The pistol bays are being well thought out by the design committee, board member Danny Micahel said, as it’s one of the areas where high revenue generating events could take place, especially United States Practical Shooting Association matches, but also four events like 3-gun. 

CEO Patrick Giles will be taking trips to Talladega, Florida for a Civilian Marksmanship Program event and then to Grand Junction, Colorado to check out the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex in the next two weeks. He said one of his main points will be to evaluate the pistol bays at those locations. 

“We're trying to build a home for USPSA nationals, and they're certainly going to be the biggest users, but not the only users for these bays,” Giles said, “so their minimum requirements that they gave to us at SHOT Show was valuable for us to ensure what we're building will meet the minimum requirements for us to be able to host, but there are other potential disciplines.”