PBR Heads back to Oklahoma City for 19th Year
By: Heather Croze
October 19, 2017
This will be the PBR’s 19th year in Oklahoma City.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – The PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) longest running Oklahoma event bucks back into Oklahoma City for the 19thtime overall, with the Express Employment Professionals Invitational on Jan. 20-21.
For two days, dirt-flinging bull riding battles between the best athletes in the business — bull riders and bulls — await OKC PBR fans. It’s arguably the toughest, most intense, heart-stopping entertainment Chesapeake Energy Arena has to offer.
The action begins at 6:45 p.m. CT on Saturday and at 1:45 p.m. CT on Sunday. Tickets range in price from $15 to $101 and are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com, the Chesapeake Energy Arena ticket office, or by phone at 800-745-3000.
The PBR Elite Seats are available for fans that are wanting a true VIP experience. The seats are priced at $400 each and will give fans the experience of a lifetime; a pre-event catered reception, backstage tours featuring a PBR 101 presentation, and meet-and-greets with some of the PBR’s top stars. These seats are also on sale now. Contact the PBR Customer Service Department at 800-732-1727 for more information.
Over the years, 16 athletes have captured the PBR Oklahoma City event title. They include:
2017 Derek Kolbaba
2016 Cooper Davis
2015 Matt Triplett
2014 Nathan Schaper
2013 Sean Willingham
2012 Valdiron de Oliveira
2011 Paulo Lima
2010 Jordan Hupp
2009 Ednei Caminhas
2006 Jody Newberry
2005 Ross Johnson
2004 Brendon Clark
2003 Gilbert Carrillo
2002 Justin Volz
2001 Jason Bennett
The Oklahoma City event will feature several PBR World Champions including, Cooper Davis (Buna, Texas), two-time world champion J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.); and three-time world champion Silvano Alves (Pilar Do Sul, Brazil), 2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi (Itupeva, Brazil) and 2004 PBR World Champion Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas. These three will ride alongside young guns like 2016 PBR Rookie of the Year Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) and the 2017 OKC winner, Derek Kolbaba.
The Express Employment Professionals Invitational will consist of three rounds of competition with the first two rounds featuring the top 35 bull riders randomly matched against the PBR’s toughest bulls. The scores from the two rides will be combined and the top 15 riders will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round following intermission on Sunday where they will compete with one more bull.
The Express Employment Professionals Invitational will be the third event on the 2017 PBR Built Ford Tough Series schedule. The season will consist of 25 stops, traveling to such cities as New York City, Chicago, Anaheim, Dallas, Milwaukee and more. The year will culminate with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Nov. 7-11 when the 2018 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most world standings points during the season, will receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and $1 million bonus. For complete schedule information, fans can visit www.PBR.com.
About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
The world’s premier bull riding organization began as a dream of 20 bull riders 24 years ago and is now a global sports phenomenon. On its elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS), the PBR features the Top 35 bull riders in the world and the top bulls in the business. The televised PBR BFTS as well as the PBR Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour (RVT), the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD) and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico have paid more than $170 million in earnings to its athletes. Thirty bull riders have earned more than $1 million, including two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who has become the top-earning athlete in Western sports history with more than $7 million in career earnings. In May 2015, PBR was acquired by Endeavor, a global leader in sports, entertainment, and fashion. For more information on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
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