03.30.22 - News
New PBR Challenger Series to bring more than 60 events in the year’s second half, complementing PBR Team Series
The Challenger Series will compete from May to November when its Championship is held in Las Vegas.
By Andrew Giangola
Following the first PBR World Finals to be held in Fort Worth, Texas, the second half of 2022 is shaping up to bring fans even more excitement while giving riders new opportunities.
PBR today announced the PBR Challenger Series, a new competition series that will launch in May 2022 following World Finals, competing from May to November when its Championship is held in Las Vegas.
The PBR Challenger Series, consisting of more than 60 events traveling to 27 states across the United States, will run in conjunction with the soon-to-launch PBR Team Series – an eight-team league competing in five-on-five bull riding games from July to November 2022.
The PBR Challenger Series will serve as a proving ground in providing additional competitive opportunities for bull riders who are both affiliated and unaffiliated with a PBR Team Series Team.
Each PBR Team Series Team will hold three entry positions for each Challenger Series event throughout the season – with 24 total positions held for Teams at each event – for which Teams may designate protected roster or practice roster riders to compete. In addition, affiliated Team riders who are not designated by their team to compete may enter PBR Challenger Series events, along with unaffiliated PBR riders.
At the conclusion of the PBR Challenger Series regular season, the Top 40 riders in the Series standings will qualify for the Challenger Championship, which will be held on November 3, 2022, in Las Vegas at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in conjunction with the PBR Team Finals at T-Mobile Arena (November 4-6).
A select number of top-finishing riders in the final Challenger Series standings will earn spots in 2023 Unleash The Beast season events.
“As PBR continues to expand, we are very excited to bring fans more than 60 events in the second half of the year under the umbrella of one exciting series that will be the ultimate proving ground for riders looking to get the attention of teams and secure entry into the 2023 Unleash The Beast season,” said PBR CEO and Commissioner Sean Gleason.
“For those riders not involved with a team, the Challenger Series is PBR’s only standalone series from June to November. For individual bull riders on a team as alternates, it provides a competitive opportunity to earn points and money.”
Among the schedule highlights for the new Series: 11 consecutive Sunday events from June 12 to August 21 at the iconic Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth; the longest continuously running outdoor event in PBR history July 1-2 at the Davis Rodeo Ranch in Archdale, NC; a brand new Challenger Series event in Ocean City, MD June 3-5 bucking bulls on the beach; and the annual event bull riders have voted eight times to be their favorite on the schedule in Big Sky, MT, July 21-23.
Fans will be able to watch many events in the new series on RidePass on Pluto TV (Channel 720).
(Pluto TV continues to expand its PBR programming in carrying live Unleash The Beast exclusives this weekend on Friday and Saturday night from Sioux Falls).
The tentative 2022 inaugural PBR Challenger Series schedule is as follows:
Date City Venue_____________________
May 27-28 Evansville, IN Ford Center
June 1 Erick, OK Nothin’ But Try Ranch
June 3 Kalispell, MT Flathead County Fairgrounds
June 3-5 Ocean City, MD Hugh T. Cropper Inlet Lot
June 4 Great Falls, MT Montana State Expo Park
June 10-11 Deadwood, SD Deadwood Event Complex
June 11 Twin Falls, ID Twin Falls Co. Fairgrounds
June 12 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
June 15 Erick, OK Nothin’ But Try Ranch
June 18 Marion, IL Rent One Park
June 19 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
June 24, 25 Rock Spring, TX Edwards County Fairgrounds
June 25 Binford, ND Binford Rodeo Grounds
June 26 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
July 1-2 Archdale, NC Davis Rodeo Ranch
July 1-2 Paris, TN Henry County Fairgrounds
July 1-3 Stamford, TX Texas Cowboy Reunion
July 3 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
July 8-9 Shipshewana, IN Michiana Event Center
July 9 Amarillo, TX Amarillo National Center
July 9 Monte Vista, CO Ski Hi Park Complex
July 10 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
July 13 Erick, OK Nothin’ But Try Ranch
July 15-16 Thief River Falls, MN Pennington County Fairgrounds
July 15-16 Springdale, AR Parsons Stadium
July 16 Livingston, MT Park County Fairgrounds
July 17 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
July 20 Erick, OK Nothin’ But Try Ranch
July 21-23 Big Sky, MT Big Sky Arena
July 24 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
July 29-30 St. Michaels, ND Spirit Lake Casino & Hotel
July 30 Wichita Falls, TX Kay Yeager Coliseum
July 31 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
Aug. 4 Brighton, CO Adams County Fairgrounds
Aug. 5,7 Woodstown, NJ Cowtown Rodeo
Aug. 7 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
Aug. 13 Goliad, TX La Bahia Fairgrounds
Aug. 14 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
Aug. 17 Erick, OK Nothin’ But Try Ranch
Aug. 19, 20 Lamar, MO Freeman Outdoor Center
Aug. 20 Redmond, OR O’Neil Arena
Aug. 21 Fort Worth, TX Cowtown Coliseum
Aug. 24 Erick, OK Nothin’ But Try Ranch
Aug. 26-27 Sioux City, IA Tyson Events Center
Aug. 27 Eureka, MT Lincoln County Fairgrounds
Sept. 2-3 Dickinson, ND Stark County Fairgrounds
Sept. 3-4 Belton, TX Bell County Expo Center
Sept. 6 Window Rock, AZ Jackson Memorial Rodeo Arena
Sept. 9-10 Kennewick, WA Toyota Center
Sept. 17 Stockton, CA Stockton Arena
Sept. 17 Lewisville, TX Lewisville Rodeo Arena
Sept. 23-24 Minot, ND Minot Municipal Auditorium
Sept. 24-25 Fairfax, VA EagleBank Arena
Oct. 1 Ruidoso, NM Ruidoso Downs Race track
Oct. 1 Yakima, WA Yakima Valley Sundome
Oct. 8 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena
Oct. 8 Columbus, OH Ohio Expo Center Coliseum
Oct. 15 Llano, TX John L. Kuykendall Event Center
Oct. 22 Tyler, TX Cross Bend Cowboy Church
Nov. 3 Las Vegas, NV South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa