PUEBLO, Colo. (November 21, 2008) - The 2008 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals presented by Wrangler made history in more ways than one. The seven-night Las Vegas extravaganza not only marked the PBR’s 15th consecutive championship event, but saw the emotional retirement of two legends of bull riding – three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes and two-time World Champion Justin McBride.
But it was the fans – all 116,177 of them – who made the 15th PBR World Finals the best and largest ever.
“It speaks volumes about the passion of our fans that the PBR saw strong growth in spite of a national economic downturn,” said Randy Bernard, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PBR. “I’m very confident that the city of Las Vegas felt the impact of tourism in their city, and the non-gaming revenue will show a significant increase over last year, which was $32 million.”
Bernard added, “I was very disappointed to see ticket scalpers. Hopefully our true fans will buy our tickets early enough next year so that they won’t have to buy tickets for exorbitant prices.”
Attendance and enthusiasm were also raised to new heights at the Mandalay Bay Fan Zone and Marketplace, where visitors enjoyed a wide variety of vendors, live entertainment, and interactive displays, including PBR funnyman Flint Rasmussen’s “Outside the Barrel” show, and the always-popular Wrangler University, giving tomorrow’s PBR stars a chance to ride sheep and steers. New this year to Fan Zone were the “Bullapollpooza Tours,” that allowed guests an up-close visit with 20 of the world’s top bucking bulls – making the 2008 Mandalay Bay Fan Zone and Marketplace a PBR-utopia for attendees.
“Las Vegas is proud of its history of success with sporting events,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). “We were confident that Las Vegas and the PBR would be a great partnership, and it’s very rewarding to see the continued growth and success of the World Finals.”
What could possibly top the most monumental PBR World Finals in history? Only 2009 will tell.
Tickets are on sale now at www.unlvtickets.com For more information, please visit www.pbrnow.com or call 719 242 2800.
About the PBR:
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, ESPN, VERSUS, and on a host of foreign networks across the globe. With approximately 400 hours of prime time programming annually, PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over 1.5 million live event attendees each year with its multi-tiered event structure which includes the marquee Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler, the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, and the Discovery Tour, designed specifically for entry level contestants. The PBR is headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., with additional offices in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. The PBR prides itself in its 1,000 plus stock contractor relationships and over 1,200 PBR bull riders competing in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in five countries.
