PBR to Debut in Allentown, Pa., at the PPL Center
By: Heather Croze May 21, 2014@ 06:00:00 AM
The BFTS stops in Allentown, Pa., on Oct. 10-11. Photo by Andy Watson / BullStockMedia.com.
PUEBLO, Colo. – This Oct. 10-11, Allentown, Pennsylvania, welcomes the country’s premiere bull riding circuit, the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series, for a two-day, world-class competition between the top bull riders on the planet and the sport’s rankest bulls.
It’s the last regular season event before the 2014 Built Ford Tough World Finals and just the second East Coast BFTS event this year. It offers the sport’s northeastern fans one last opportunity to see the men who compete in the “toughest sport on dirt” before they head to Las Vegas Oct. 22-26 to compete for the overall 2014 PBR World Championship title.
The bull riding action begins at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11. Tickets for “America’s fastest growing sport” (Forbes 2013), go on sale Friday, May 23, and can be purchased at PPLcenter.com. Prices range from $15 to $100.
For two days the Top 35 bull riders, including 2013 World Champion J.B. Mauney, 2008 World Champion and current No. 1 ranked bull rider Guilherme Marchi, and World Champions Mike Lee (2004), Renato Nunes (2010) and Kody Lostroh (2009), will take on the power and brawn of 2,000-pound opponents. Some of the BFTS battle-tested and infamous bulls will be waiting in the chutes to produce some of the most unbelievable, jaw-dropping 8-second clashes the brand-new PPL Center will ever see.
“Allentown is in for a special treat.” said PBR Chairman and CEO Jim Haworth. “Fans will have the opportunity to see the best bull riding of the 2014 [PBR Built Ford Tough Series] season as the Top 35 men get one last chance to earn points to qualify for the PBR World Finals which take place in Las Vegas just two weeks later. Giving our eastern fans another live event this year was very important to us. Allentown is the perfect location for this event and we’re looking forward to breaking in the PPL Center in PBR style.”
The format is simple. All 35 bull riders will attempt one bull during Round 1 on Friday and Round 2 on Saturday. After Saturday’s Round 2, the scores from the two rounds will be added together and the Top 15 scored riders will return for the Built Ford Tough Championship Round to attempt one more additional bull each. The rider with the highest score after all three rounds will be declared the champion and take home at least $30,000 of the total $140,000 purse.
The Allentown event will be tape-delayed on CBS SN for Sunday, Oct. 12.
The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award Winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.
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