The Professional Bull Riding (PBR) World Finals are coming to Dickies Arena in Forth Worth for the first time next month. The event spans two weekends from May 13-22. Even more exciting is that the Finals will be held in Fort Worth for the foreseeable future.
PBR CEO Sean Gleason told WFAA that his organization had reached a multi-year agreement with Fort Worth to host the World Finals, and they are hoping to make it the event’s permanent home.
“We’re cowboys, and we belong in a cowboy town,” Gleason said. “Fort Worth is Cowtown Texas and cowboy country. Fort Worth is the epicenter of that, and there’s a cultural cowboy revolution going on right now. Making that our home is really exciting for all of us.”
The PBR World Finals have taken place in Las Vegas since 1994, but in 2020 they took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington due to COVID restrictions in Nevada.
“We were excited to host the 2020 PBR World Finals in Texas, and we are proud to now welcome the most intense bull riding competition with the most engaged fans back to the Lone Star State in the 2022 season,” said Governor Greg Abbott in a PBR press release.
He continued, “Fort Worth is the modern West, and there is no better place for the PBR World Finals to call their new long-term home. I congratulate the PBR, the City of Fort Worth, and Mayor Mattie Parker on this world champion partnership that will showcase Texas as the premier sports-entertainment destination, spur continuing tourism and travel, and bring new jobs to Fort Worth and beyond.”
According to Visit Fort Worth’s Chief Operating Officer Mitch Whitten, the PBR World Finals have a $28 million annual impact in Las Vegas. He estimates that more than 100,000 people will attend the event over the two weekends.
Whitten said selling Fort Worth as the location of the PBR World Finals was not difficult.
“For both PBR and Fort Worth, the question was how fast can we get here?” Whitten said. “It feels like the time was right for PBR to come to Fort Worth.”
In addition to the World Finals at Dickies Arena, PBR will host fan events at Cowtown Coliseum, the Fort Worth Convention Center, the Will Rogers Complex, and the PBR Bar at Texas Live! in Arlington.
“This has been an incredible team effort with PBR, Governor Abbott, our Fort Worth Sports Commission, and so many others,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said. “Fort Worth is the gold standard for public-private partnerships, and we are marshaling all our resources to roll out the red carpet for the PBR World Finals.”
More information on tickets and a schedule of events is available on the Visit Fort Worth website.
