Photo: Rick Rosen
The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) held their first World Finals at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and has called Las Vegas home ever since. Every year, this event gets larger, louder and more popular. MGM Resorts has always been one of its biggest sponsors, even when the event moved to the larger Thomas and Mack Center. It was recently announced that the PBR will move its biggest event back to the MGM family in 2016…
LAS VEGAS – The PBR (Professional Bull Riders) signed a multi-year agreement to make the Las Vegas Arena the long-term home of the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals. Located on the Las Vegas Strip, the new state-of-the-art, 20,000-seat, $375 million indoor arena will host the World Finals beginning in November 2016.
The Las Vegas Arena is a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and AEG, both long-standing partners of the PBR.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena was the home of the first PBR World Finals in 1994, and hosted the event through 1998 before PBR moved to Thomas & Mack Center, a larger venue, in 1999. Fans had the opportunity to watch such legendary PBR bull riders and founders as three-time PBR World Champion Adriano Moraes, Michael Gaffney (1997) and Troy Dunn (1998), win the prestigious World Champion title.
“The new Las Vegas Arena is a state-of-the-art facility with world-class amenities.” PBR CEO Sean Gleason said. “We will remember our history-making years at Thomas & Mack fondly, but we owe it to our fans and bull riders to create the next chapter in a venue that will enhance the PBR World Finals experience for everyone. We are excited to bring the ultimate event of the fastest-growing sport in America to the newest venue in Las Vegas.”
“The PBR is an iconic, world-renowned sport and we are excited to bring its premier event, the Built Ford Tough World Finals, to the Las Vegas Arena.” Rick Arpin, Senior Vice President, Arena Operations for MGM Resorts International said. “Hosting the event will allow us to showcase the Arena’s multi-purpose flexibility as well as continue our long-standing relationship with this great organization.”
The “Toughest Event on Earth” will take over the Thomas & Mack Center one final time, battling it out to become the next PBR World Champion and receive the coveted World Championship buckle and $1 million bonus. There are a handful of contenders that will be vying for the title, including three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves, who has a chance to make history by becoming the only four-time World Champion and surpassing $6 million in earnings – neither feat ever being achieved by a PBR bull rider.
“This year will be bittersweet as we celebrate 17 great years at Thomas & Mack.” Gleason continued. “We have the tightest race in PBR history with several new names – Joao Ricardo Vieira, Matt Triplett, Kaique Pacheco and Nathan Schaper – in the top five and hoping to claim the last title won at T&M. J.B. Mauney won the first event of the stretch run, though, and it looks like he could repeat his epic second half domination as he did when he claimed the title in 2013. Our last year in Thomas & Mack is shaping up to be the best.”
The premier bull riding organization will make its great return to the beloved Las Vegas Strip for the PBR World Finals on Nov. 2-6, 2016. Season ticket holders can purchase their 2016 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals tickets in September. General public tickets will go on sale Monday, Oct. 26.
A look at what to expect from the new Las Vegas Arena can be found here: https://vimeo.com/112434483.
For more information visit www.pbr.com or http://arenalasvegas.com/home.aspx.
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