by: Caroline Bleakley, Justin Hopkins Posted: Aug 30, 2021 / 04:53 PM PDT / Updated: Aug 31, 2021 / 09:46 AM PDT Channel 8 Las Vegas
AS VEGAS (KLAS) — Professional Bull Riders are moving their championships from Las Vegas to Fort Worth, Texas in 2022. PBR officially announced the move Tuesday. The annual PBR World Finals attracts hundreds of bull riders and millions in prize money every year and has always been a big boost for the local economy.
PBR has been doing its annual championship in Las Vegas since the sport was founded in 1992 and says it will continue to visit Las Vegas with future events. The changes will go into effect following the 2021 PBR World Finals at the T-Mobile Arena starting Nov. 3.
“We would like to thank the City of Las Vegas for being such an incredible host to the PBR World Finals for nearly three decades,” said PBR Commissioner and CEO Sean Gleason. “While we are excited about the move to Texas, Las Vegas will continue to hold marquee PBR events, which will be announced in the coming months.”
It’s the first major annual sporting event to pull out of Las Vegas. PBR did pull out of Las Vegas last year and temporarily moved to Texas due to COVID-19.
“These landmark changes give the PBR season greater continuity and allow the league to hold our crown jewel, the World Finals, in the heart of cowboy country surrounded by exciting fan entertainment activities,” said PBR Commissioner and CEO Sean Gleason.
The move may have something to do with what Gleason said in an interview one year ago when he said he wasn’t treated like a decades-long business partner.
“Well, to be perfectly candid we didn’t get calls back from the governor’s office so we worked through our friends at LVCVA MGM T Mobile, we’re the first out there with safe and responsible plans to conduct events, and, and we just couldn’t get the time of day couldn’t get a call and couldn’t even walk through our plan, I don’t know if our plan has been reviewed by anybody at the state level,” Gleason said.
The event will be held in the Dickies Arena which seats 9,300 for rodeo and PBR events.