Retirements And Venue Changes Top This Week’s PBR Headlines….

PBR page picture

After the long summer break the Professional Bull Riders organization and some of its cowboys have come forward to make some huge announcements regarding the PBR Built Ford Tough Series World Finals and the careers of so of their most elite athletes.  These last two weeks have been a whirlwind of breaking announcements and now we know we not only lost one of the greatest bucking bulls in the business, Mick E Mouse, but we will dim the lights on some of the greatest careers, who just happen to be cousins, as well as close the doors on the Thomas & Mack after the 2015 PBR World Finals as well!

austinmeier

PBR Bull Rider Austin Meier

PBR bull rider Austin Meier calmly stood in front of the television cameras as the Built Ford Tough Series stop was well underway in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past weekend to make an announcement live on CBS Sports Network with commentator Leah Garcia.  Meier, who is cousins with L.J. Jenkins who announced his retirement at the end of the year, also announced his retirement effective immediately which as quite the shock and sent ripples through the PBR’s fan base around the world.  Meier talked about his choice to retire from the sport by saying, “I don’t have any regrets. It is something you can’t change, so there is no sense regretting it. That is the way I look at life in general. It may have caught up to me these last couple of years and obviously shortened my career a couple of years, but heck in our sport we can think we have a whole career ahead of us and that ride it can be over.”

venue

Las Vegas Arena Sketches Courtesy Of  The PBR

If you were watching the telecast this last weekend you heard PBR’s new CEO Sean Gleason make a huge announcement regarding the venue change of the Professional Bull Rider’s Built Ford Tough Series World Finals starting in 2016.  Not only will there be a venue change that will change the direction of the sport for the foreseeable future but there will be a date change as well.

The new venue, The Las Vegas Arena, which is a 20,000 seat $375 million dollar arena is scheduled to open up in April of 2016 and will be the new host for the PBR World Finals next year.  This huge complex is centrally located in the heart of the Las Vegas strip and is a joint venture between the MGM Resorts International and AEG, both of which have been long time supporters of the PBR.

Sean Gleason, PBR’s CEO issued a statement about the venue change by saying, “The new Las Vegas Arena is a state-of-the-art facility with world-class amenities.”  He went on to say, “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.”

This year’s World Finals will mark the 17th and last year that the event will be held at the Thomas & Mack on the UNLV campus.  If you have never been to Las Vegas to witness the World Finals live this will be the year to do it as the PBR closes the chapter and moves on to a new lease at the new state of the art arena in 2016.  If you would like to see what the Las Vegas Arena will look like you can visit the video by clicking here.  It will be a beautiful facility but make no mistake that the Thomas & Mack intimacy will be greatly missed as well!

The last important part of this announcement is the noting of the change in dates that will accompany the change in venue.  For years the World Finals have been a staple to help bring some revenue into Las Vegas during the month of October.  Now, starting in 2016, the event will be moved to the month of November, which is just one short month prior to the start of the PRCA’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.  Tickets for next year’s World Finals will go on sale on October 26th and they will go quick with the new venue.  If you are a season ticket holder you can start purchasing your tickets in September to make sure you are part of the new chapter and the PBR’s new chapter moving forward!!

It is quite easy to follow all the breaking news and excitement with the Rodeo Round Up simply by copying this website into your favorites in your web browser for easy one-click access to updated event statistics.  You can also like and follow us on facebook here, or by liking and following us on Instagram and/or Twitter at @therodeoroundup.  Jason has also made it easy for you to be a part of his interviews by opening up a listener comment line.  If you have a question for a certain rodeo star simply call in and leave your name, where you are from, who the question is for and what your question is and he will do his best to get it answered for you during his interviews!

call-jason


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *