PBR World Finals Means It’s Time for Cowboys (the Real Ones) in Las Vegas
By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
It’s part of the annual rites of early November in Las Vegas — cooler weather, the trailers of bulls and horses that roll into this dusty, neon horse town and several dozen of the best bull riders in the world from Canada to Montana to Brazil arriving at T-Mobile Arena on the Strip.
The 25th PBR World Finals, which moved to T-Mobile Arena in 2016 after runs at Thomas & Mack Center and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, is the middle of its five-day stint from Wednesday to Sunday at the arena used by the Vegas Golden Knights.
LVSportsBiz.com visited the PBR Finals Thursday and came away impressed with “Dirt Suites” at event level, where couches and chairs were literally next to the dirt surface offering close views of the 160-pound bull riders and the 2,000-pound bulls.
PBR, which is owned by entertainment giant Endeavor (which was formerly WME-IMG), held a black carpet ceremony outside the arena on Toshiba Plaza before the 7 p.m. start. And it had its usual host of sponsors on hand such as Ford, Yeti, Wrangler, Cooper Tires, Jack Daniels and Lucas Oil.
A belt buckle was even selling for $350.
Before the bull riding competition started, they prayed for both the bull riders and the bulls. There’s a deep respect for the powerful, four-legged creature, which has prompted the bull riders to wear high-tech helmets with face masks. Take a look.
PBR started in 1992 when 20 bull riders broke away from the standard rodeo format and created their own standalone sport, which is now broadcast by CBS. Endeavor, which also controls Las Vegas-based UFC, bought PBR in 2015 and the World Finals were moved to T-Mobile Arena a year later. PBR still has its “Toughest Sport on Dirt” marketing mantra.
The PBR World Finals also signal a time in Las Vegas when the city starts to see the “Western Lifestyle” folks taking over large blocks of hotel rooms. Next month, the National Finals Rodeo will be coming to Thomas & Mack Center with out-of-town rodeo fans spilling into dozens of Southern Nevada hotels. There’s 14 million reasons why the PRCA stages its premier rodeo in Sin City every year in December.
And don’t forget, one of the world’s richest equestrian events — the World Series of Team Roping — comes to South Point next month, too. The Western lifestyle vendors fill more than 100,000 square feet at South Point to sell horse saddles, boots, and every Western lifestyle product imaginable.
The Vegas Golden Knights return to T-Mobile Arena next week and by then the chute and dirt will be long gone.
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