Mayor Mattie Parker announces the PBR World Finals' move to Fort Worth in 2022.
So long, Vegas. Professional Bull Riders' biggest event is riding into Cowtown.
The PBR World Finals is moving from Las Vegas to Fort Worth in 2022, the organization announced Tuesday at Dickies Arena, where the event is scheduled to take place from May 13 – 22.
This is the first time the event has relocated since PBR's founding in 1992 — the only time the World Finals took place outside of Las Vegas was in 2020, when the championship temporarily moved to Arlington's AT&T Stadium in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. PBR intends to continue hosting other events in Las Vegas, to be announced at a later date.
But the biggest event — the World Finals — will call Cowtown home immediately after the 2021 competition concludes at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 3 – 7. The World Finals is the culmination of the PBR Unleash the Beast regular season, which will in 2022 span from January to May and conclude with two weekends of bull riding and fan activities in Fort Worth. PBR also plans to bring additional programming to Cowtown Coliseum, the Fort Worth Convention Center, and the Will Rogers Complex, along with the PBR Bar at Texas Live! in Arlington.
PBR's announcement comes just days after the Iron Cowboy, a PBR Major event that took place last weekend at Dickies Arena, and two months after the announcement of a recent venture with Stockyards Heritage Development Company and ASM Global to bring more events to the Stockyards. According to the Fort Worth Sports Commission, the city welcomed more than 40 sporting events this year, with an economic impact worth more than $100 million.
"What happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas," Mayor Mattie Parker said during Tuesday's announcement. "This is big news. We are two weeks of events, tens of thousands of fans, and days of media spotlight to highlight the town we love — Cowtown. Fort Worth, Texas."
PBR CEO and commissioner Sean Gleason called Fort Worth the "epicenter of the cowboy universe."
"The bottom line is, we're cowboy. And this is Cowtown. And this is Texas," he said. "If we're going to have a championship, this is the place for it. Right here at Dickies Arena."
Ticket information for the 2022 World Finals and regular season events will be announced at a later date. Additional information is available at pbr.com.
