MANCHESTER, NH – For the first time in league history, PBR’s (Professional Bull Rider) elite tour featuring the Top 35 bull riders in the world and rankest bucking bulls in the nation, will invade Manchester, New Hampshire. The Manchester Invitational, the 3rd stop on the premier PBR Unleash The Beast, will buck into SNHU Arena for two days of edge-of-the-seat action on January 18-19, 2020.
While the top tour for America’s original extreme sport has never before visited Manchester, the league’s developmental Touring Pro Division has made four trips to the city, most recently in 2009. Those events were won by Travis Briscoe (2005), Willy Ropp (2006, 2007) and Josh Faircloth (2009).
The Manchester Invitational will mark one of the first events of the 2020 season following yet another heated, highly contested battle to be crowned the PBR World Champion. With the world No.1-ranking seemingly shifting week-to-week, fans have borne witness to a slug-match between Jose Vitor Leme, 2017 World Champion Jess Lockwood, Chase Outlaw and Joao Ricardo Vieira as they compete for the $1 million bonus and coveted, golden 2019 World Champion buckle to be awarded in Las Vegas this November.
Leme, Lockwood, Outlaw and Vieira are all anticipated to compete at the 2020 event in New Hampshire and should be joined by two additional PBR World Champions: Cooper Davis (2016) and J.B. Mauney (2013, 2015).
The event is also expected to feature New Yorker Daylon Swearingen. The 20-year-old young gun burst onto the premier series in mid-2019, now firmly ranked inside the world’s Top 15, and a top-contender for the season’s Rookie of the Year honor.
“With the overwhelming fan reaction to our Pendleton Whiskey Velocity Tour events in the region, we believe it’s time for the first elite series PBR stop in New Hampshire,” said Sean Gleason, CEO, PBR. “We have fantastic fans throughout New England and an Unleash The Beast in Manchester featuring the world’s top bull riders taking on the rankest bulls should be very well received.”
The bull riding action begins with Round 1 at 6:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 18, concluding with Round 2 and the championship round at 1:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 19. All 35 bull riders will get on one bull each in Round 1 and 2. Following Round 2 on Sunday afternoon, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled with the Top 15 advancing to the championship round for one more out and a chance at the $30,000 event title.
Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, October 4 and start at $15, taxes and fees may apply. They can be purchased at the SNHU Arena Box Office, and online at Ticketmaster.com.
For an enhanced PBR experience, fans can now purchase PBR Elite Seats and Premium Experiences, which provide a behind-the-scenes look into the toughest sport on dirt.
These premium options include early entry; tickets to a premium seating section; a catered reception; a pre-event, backstage tour by a PBR Host, featuring a PBR 101 presentation and visit with the sport’s fiercest bovine athletes; and the opportunity for photos and autographs from the sport’s top stars.
For more information on the upgraded experiences, fans can contact PBR Direct at 800-732-1727.
The PBR Unleash The Beast season consists of 28 stops, traveling to cities such as Chicago, New York, Houston, Los Angeles and many more. The season will culminate with the PBR World Finals at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena Nov. 4-8, when the 2020 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.
About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders):
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 700 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash the Beast, which features the top 35 bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. PBR’s digital assets include RidePass, which is home to Western sports. PBR is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
About ASM Global
ASM Global was formed in October 2019 from the merger of AEG Facilities, the global innovator in live entertainment venues, and SMG, the gold standard in event management. ASM Global is a venue management powerhouse that spans five continents, 14 countries and more than 300 of the world’s most prestigious arenas, stadiums, convention and exhibit centers, and performing arts venues. As the world’s most trusted venue manager, ASM Global provides venue strategy and management, sales, marketing, event booking and programming, construction and design consulting, and pre-opening services. Among the venues in our portfolio are landmark facilities such as McCormick Place & Soldier Field in Chicago, the Los Angeles Convention Center, Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans and the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Conference Centre in Shenzhen, China. ASM Global also offers food and beverage operations through its concessions and catering companies.
