New sign coming to Queen Creek’s Horseshoe Park

A new 40-foot-tall monument LED sign is in the works for the Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre.

The new sign will replace the existing 30-foot sign located adjacent to Riggs Road. It will also replace the current sign as the tallest in Queen Creek. The sign includes a double-sided, 128-square-foot LED animated sign.

According to town documents, construction on the sign is expected to start soon now that the Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission has approved a comprehensive sign plan for the center that includes the request for the new sign. The item does not have to go before the Queen Creek Town Council.

“I thought this was pretty excessive, but when the other one’s 30-feet tall it doesn’t seem that tall. It’s another 10 feet. I don’t think it’s going to matter too much,” said Commissioner Troy Young.

Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre is at 20464 E. Riggs Road. Since opening in 2009, Riggs Road has become a full east-west corridor and traffic has significantly increased as has interest in the sign from potential sponsors.

“The size and scope of (the park), and specifically the main covered arena, warrants an increase in the height and area of the marquee sign. … and will be more substantial against the mass of the 64-foot-tall main arena. A larger marquee sign will also allow for better display of the facility’s name, which is a crucial piece of the branding for the park and will help to distinguish the facility from others in the area,” a staff report stated.

When the Queen Creek Town Council approved the park’s five-year strategic plan in 2023, it also approved a larger sign with the stipulation that town staff had to raise 50% of its cost through sponsorships.

Through sponsorships, the town has raised $267,500 of the sign’s estimated cost, with Earnhardt Auto Centers kicking in $124,000 as a platinum sponsor. According to the town the cost of the new sign is $433,866 with the total cost of the project at $535,00. The town will pay the balance of the cost.

“Earnhardt Auto Centers’ NoBull.com branding will be prominently displayed in the top cabinet of the new sign,” the report stated.

The current marquee sign at Horseshoe Park was installed in 2010 to promote events at the facility but offers limited sponsorship opportunities.

“The technology is not there anymore, and I can’t buy replacement parts for that the sign,” David Solum, Horseshoe Park’s general manager, told the commission. “I was getting complaints that you couldn’t read (the sign).”

The new LED-animated monument sign will display static images that change every eight seconds. The sign will be illuminated 24 hours a day but will be dimmed beginning at dusk.

“Dimming the sign in the evening hours will reduce nighttime glare and impact to drivers and to residents south of Riggs Road (the nearest residential property is approximately 400 feet southeast of the proposed sign location),” the report stated.

Since 2011, Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre has nearly tripled its revenues, Solum said. During the 2023-24 fiscal year the center hosted 245 events with more than 216,000 attendees and 12,000 horses.

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