2017 BFTS Season Will Open in Madison Square Garden
By: Denise Abbott
July 19, 2016
The BFTS will visit 16 cities in the first half. Photo: Andy Watson / BullStockMedia.com
PUEBLO, Colo. – As the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) 2016 Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) looks to build on its record-setting momentum in the second half of the season beginning in Nashville, Tennessee, at Bridgestone Arena on Aug. 19-20, the ‘Toughest Sport on Dirt’ has announced the cities and dates for the first half of the 2017 BFTS schedule.
The BFTS features the Top 35 bull riding stars in the world and airs weekly throughout the season on CBS and CBS Sports Network. The series will visit 16 cities in 2017 before its summer break and then continue with 10 events in next season’s second half leading up to the 2017 PBR World Finals in Las Vegas.
The first half of the 2017 season will be highlighted by the following stops:
The season will kick off with a PBR Major at the World’s Most Famous Arena: Madison Square Garden will host the Monster Energy Buck off at the Garden on Jan. 6-8. 2017 will be the 11th consecutive year that the PBR has visited the Big Apple with one of the most popular events on the tour.
Arlington, Texas’, AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, will host the second PBR Major, Iron Cowboy. This event showcases 40 cowboys, the largest field of competitors in the regular BFTS season, and will take place two weeks earlier than usual in 2017, on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Last Cowboy Standing, 2017’s third PBR Major, will once again headline Las Vegas Helldorado Days on May 12-13. With the Vegas Strip as its backdrop, the Last Cowboy Standing will take place outdoors in the Las Vegas Village across the street from the Luxor.
PBR’s west coast swing in the first quarter begins with a debut at Sacramento’s new Golden 1 Center on Jan. 27-29. This will be the PBR’s first three-day competition in the Northern California city. The following weekend, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3-4, the PBR will celebrate its 20thanniversary event at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center will once again host one of the most popular stops on tour March 31-April 2. Ticket demand in 2016 compelled the PBR to add a day to the stop, and set a PBR attendance record in the state.
A return to Washington’s Tacoma Dome and Glendale, Arizona’s, Gila River Arena will be two of the 16 stops before the mid-season break. PBR last competed in the Tacoma Dome in 2014 and in Glendale in 2012. The I-70 cities of Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, will host the world’s best on Feb. 11-12 at the Sprint Center and Feb. 24-26 at Scottrade Center, respectively.
The two oldest events on the BFTS tour, Billings, Montana, (21) and Albuquerque (20), will also be a hot ticket when the PBR returns to the Rimrock Auto Arena in Billings on April 7-9 and takes over the New Mexico Lobos arena, “The Pit,” on March 17-19.
After the PBR’s first ever three-day event in Rosemont, Illinois’, Allstate Arena on Jan. 13-15, Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena will be the third stop of the season on Jan. 21-22.
“As one of fastest growing sports in the U.S., PBR is focused on striking the best balance between returning to old favorites, visiting cities on both coasts and the mid-west, and exploring opportunities in new towns and venues,” said PBR CEO Sean Gleason. “We’re looking forward to celebrating the Western lifestyle with exciting PBR events across the country in 2017 and reaching new fans along the way.”
Below is the schedule for the PBR’s 2017 Built Ford Tough Series from January through mid-May.
Stay tuned to pbr.com for on-sale dates and more event details.
Jan. 6-8: New York City, Madison Square Garden
Jan. 13-15: Chicago, Illinois, Allstate Arena
Jan. 21-22: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Chesapeake Energy Arena
Jan. 27-29: Sacramento, California, Golden 1 Center
Feb. 3-4: Anaheim, California, Honda Center
Feb. 11-12: Kansas City, Missouri, Sprint Center
Feb. 18: Arlington, Texas, AT&T Stadium
Feb. 24-26: St. Louis, Missouri, Scottrade Center
Mar. 3-4: TBD
Mar. 10-11: TBD
Mar. 17-19: Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wise Pies Arena aka “The Pit”
Mar. 25-26: Glendale, Arizona, Gila River Arena
Mar. 31-Apr. 2: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
Apr. 7-9: Billings, Montana, Rimrock Auto Arena
Apr. 22-23: Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma Dome
May 12-14: Las Vegas, Nevada, Helldorado Days
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