09.29.22 - Unleash The Beast
PBR announces 2023 competition schedule for elite Unleash The Beast and expansion Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
PBR to celebrate 30th anniversary season by visiting more than 50 cities across 35 states.
By Kacie Albert
PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR (Professional Bull Riders) today announced its 2023 competition schedule for the elite Unleash The Beast and expansion Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, with the organization set to bring the world’s best bull riders and bovine athletes to more than 50 cities across 35 states as the PBR readies to embark on its 30th anniversary season.
During the 2023 season, the PBR will celebrate its 30th anniversary since 20 cowboys broke away from the traditional rodeo with the belief that bull riding could be a standalone sport. Since their trailblazing initiative, the PBR has grown into a global phenomenon awarding nearly $300 million in prize money.
Throughout the seven-month individual season, the premier Unleash The Beast will hold 24 events, traveling to the likes of New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, while the expansion Velocity Tour will hold 26 events, returning to fan-favorite destinations spanning coast-to-coast such as Lexington, Kentucky, Portland, Oregon, Bangor, Maine, Greenville, South Carolina, and Fresno, California.
The 2023 season will culminate with the return of the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals to the iconic Buc Days western lifestyle festival in Corpus Christi, Texas, on May 5-6, followed by the 2023 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast held from May 12-21 in Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena. The opening three rounds of competition will be held May 12-14, followed by Rounds 4-7 and the championship round from May 18-21 when the 2023 PBR World Champion will be crowned, earning the coveted gold buckle and $1 million bonus.
The 2023 PBR Unleash The Beast campaign will begin Nov. 26-27, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona at the Tucson Arena. The season-launch tour stop will mark the first time the PBR’s premier tour has stopped in Tucson in more than six years.
Following subsequent two-day events in St. Louis, Missouri (Dec. 3-4), Minneapolis, Minnesota (Dec. 9-10), Manchester, New Hampshire (Dec. 17-18), and Albany, New York (Dec. 29-30), the elite Unleash The Beast will return to Madison Square Garden in New York City for the 16th time. The PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden, presented by Ariat, will offer riders both increased points and prize money as they compete through the grueling three-day tour stop inside the World’s Most Famous Arena®.
As the season continues, following returns to fan-favorite cities including Sacramento, California (Feb. 3-5) and Tulsa, Oklahoma (Feb. 10-11), PBR will bring a one-day, winner-take-all event to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 18. The elite Unleash The Beast will follow that with its return to Los Angeles, taking over Crypto.com Arena Feb. 25-26.
In mid-March, PBR’s premier series will return to New Orleans for the first time in more than a decade, bucking into Smoothie King Center March 17-18.
The tour will then turn its focus to the Western United States, traveling to New Mexico, South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, and Washington, which will again host the mid-week event in Everett (April 19-20), followed by a weekend tour stop in nearby Tacoma (April 22-23).
The regular season for the 2023 PBR Unleash The Beast will come to a climactic end outdoors April 28-30 in Ridgedale, Missouri, when the premier series debuts at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena.
The PBR’s crown jewel, the 2023 PBR World Finals, will return to Fort Worth for the second consecutive season, again featuring eight rounds of competition spread across two weekends, May 12-21, at Dickies Arena.
2023 PBR UNLEASH THE BEAST SCHEDULE
Date City, State Venue
Nov. 26-27 Tucson, Arizona Tucson Arena
Dec. 3-4 St. Louis, Missouri Enterprise Center
Dec. 9-10 Minneapolis, Minnesota Target Center
Dec. 17-18 Manchester, New Hampshire SNHU Arena
Dec. 29-30 Albany, New York MVP Arena
Jan. 6-8 New York, New York Madison Square Garden
Jan. 13-14 Chicago, Illinois Allstate Arena
Jan. 21-22 Duluth, Georgia Gas South Arena
Jan. 28-29 Indianapolis, Indiana Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Feb. 3-5 Sacramento, California Golden 1 Center
Feb. 10-11 Tulsa, Oklahoma BOK Center
Feb. 18 Arlington, Texas AT&T Stadium
Feb. 25-26 Los Angeles, California Crypto.com Arena
March 3-4 Little Rock, Arkansas Simmons Bank Arena
March 11-12 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Fiserv Forum
March 17-18 New Orleans, Louisiana Smoothie King Center
March 24-26 Albuquerque, New Mexico The Pit
March 31-April 2 Sioux Falls, South Dakota Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
April 7-8 Nampa, Idaho Ford Idaho Center
April 14-16 Billings, Montana MetraPark
April 19-20 Everett, Washington Angel of the Winds Arena
April 22-23 Tacoma, Washington Tacoma Dome
April 28-30 Ridgedale, Missouri Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
*May 12-14 Fort Worth, Texas Dickies Arena
*May 18-21 Fort Worth, Texas Dickies Arena
*Denotes the 2023 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast. Rounds 1-3 of competition will be held May 12-14, while Rounds 4-7 and the Championship Round will take place May 18-21.
The 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour season will be headlined by nine double-up event weekends, including the tour’s season-launch weekend when it will hold events in Lexington, Kentucky (Jan. 6-7) and Portland, Oregon (Jan. 7).
Following the series’ opening weekend of competition, the Velocity Tour will return to the iconic National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, holding one of its two three-day events Jan. 9-11.
To conclude the intense slate of January events, the Velocity Tour will hold back-to-back double-up shows, traveling to Charleston, West Virginia (Jan. 13-14) and Spokane, Washington (Jan. 14) concurrently, followed by simultaneous events in Greenville, South Carolina (Jan. 20-21) and Reno, Nevada (Jan. 20-21).
January’s Velocity Tour schedule will conclude with one of the series’ most tenured events, returning to Grand Rapids for the seventh time in history on Jan. 27-28.
Throughout February, the Velocity Tour will bring events to eight cities across seven states including South Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
On Feb. 10-11, the PBR will debut in Palm Springs, California, as one of the initial events to be held in the newly opened Acrisure Arena.
In the final two months of the season, Bangor, Maine, will welcome the Velocity Tour for the final three-day event of the season, March 10-12 at Cross Insurance Center, before College Station, Texas hosts the final regular-season event of 2023 on April 28-29 at Reed Arena.
For the second consecutive year, the prestigious PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals will be held in Corpus Christi, Texas, launching the well-known Buc Days western lifestyle festival. Riders will be vying for the title of 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion with five spots also on the line to qualify for the 2023 PBR World Finals.
2023 PBR PENDLETON WHISKY VELOCITY TOUR SCHEDULE
Date City, State Venue
Jan. 6-7 Lexington, Kentucky Rupp Arena
Jan. 7 Portland, Oregon Moda Center
Jan. 9-11 Denver, Colorado National Western Stock Show
Jan. 13-14 Charleston, West Virginia Charleston Coliseum
Jan. 14 Spokane, Washington Spokane Arena
Jan. 20-21 Greenville, South Carolina Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Jan. 20-21 Reno, Nevada Reno Events Center
Jan. 27-28 Grand Rapids, Michigan Van Andel Arena
Feb. 3-4 North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston Coliseum
Feb. 4 Bakersfield, California Mechanics Bank Arena
Feb. 10-11 Reading, Pennsylvania Santander Arena
Feb. 10-11 Palm Springs, California Acrisure Arena
Feb. 17-18 Cedar Park, Texas HEB Center
Feb. 18 Memphis, Tennessee FedExForum
Feb. 25 Worcester, Massachusetts DCU Center
Feb. 25 Hampton, Virginia Hampton Coliseum
March 4 Knoxville, Tennessee Thompson-Boling Arena
March 10-12 Bangor, Maine Cross Insurance Center
March 11 Dayton, Ohio Nutter Center
March 17-18 Wheeling, West Virginia WesBanco Arena
March 18-19 Fresno, California Save Mart Center
March 25 Oakland, California Oracle Arena
April 1 Casper, Wyoming Ford Wyoming Center
April 15 Grand Forks, North Dakota Alerus Center
April 22 Wichita, Kansas INTRUST Bank Arena
April 28-29 College Station, Texas Reed Arena
*May 5-6 Corpus Christi, Texas American Bank Center
*Denotes the 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals to be held in tandem with the iconic Buc Days festival.
For more information about the PBR and the 2023 PBR Unleash The Beast and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour schedules, or to purchase tickets, visit PBR.com.