South Point Arena to Host the World’s Best Bull Riders in the PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge, a Closed-To-Public Competition, June 5 – 28
South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa has partnered with the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) to host 48 of the world’s top professional bull riders in the South Point Arena split into 12 teams and divisions, facing off until two teams remain to compete for the championship.
The competitions each Friday and Saturday will be televised on CBS Sports Network with a “Game of the Week” broadcast on CBS Television Network each Sunday. Every night of competition will feature three “games,” where each game will comprise a head-to-head matchup of three riders from one team against three riders from another on the sport’s toughest bulls.
The first four weekends of the PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas on June 5-28 will be closed-to-the-public using the safety protocols PBR debuted during three previous event weekends in April and May, including a scaled-down crew, medical testing, functional separation and social distancing.
“We are proud to partner with the PBR in bringing the world’s best bull riders to the South Point Arena. There is no better place than Vegas Cowboy Central to put the sports and entertainment capital back on television. Las Vegas will always be here to entertain you, even if you can’t be here.” said Ryan Growney, General Manager of South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa.
The competition will then culminate in a championship weekend that will welcome fans to ticketed events at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota July 10-12.
South Point Arena hosts the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals each year.
“After successfully holding closed events in Oklahoma that utilized a comprehensive wellness and safety plan now being reviewed by other leagues, we have added protocols to provide fans a secure place to enjoy a new exciting team format,” said PBR Commissioner Sean Gleason. “We want to thank our fans for their patience and cooperation, as well as our venue, city and state partners, including Governor Kristi Noem, for collaborating on these measures for bringing this new team tournament in front of fans in an environment they’ll be comfortable in.”
Every team will have played six regular season games after four weeks. The teams with the top three records in each division will make the playoffs, with the regular season division champion earning a first round bye. Championship weekend – a single elimination bracket – will feature wild card matchups on Friday, the semifinals on Saturday, and Championship Sunday broadcast on CBS Television Network, with the consolation game on CBS Sports Network.
PBR’s most recent Unleash The Beast ticketed event for fans was in Little Rock March 6-7, 2020. When restrictions on mass gatherings from COVID-19 (Coronavirus) were put into place, PBR held closed-to-fans events for television in Georgia March 15-16, and at the Lazy E Arena in Oklahoma April 25-26 and May 9-10 with a comprehensive safety plan approved by three layers of government.
The PBR will announce in the coming weeks further competition details and rosters for The PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge, which will not offer individual riders’ points toward the 2020 world standings.
PBR will handle all production for these events, which are subject to change depending on developments with Covid-19.