This 18th stop on the elite Built Ford Tough Series Tour (BFTS) presented by Wrangler will buck into the Allstate Arena for two thrilling performances on Saturday, April 26 at 6:50 p.m. and Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. Riders such as 2004 World Champion Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas); 2006 Chicago event winner Austin Meier (Kinta, Okla.); 2001 PBR Rookie of the Year Luke Snyder (Raymore, Mo.) who has set the PBR record for competing in the most consecutive events with 218 and going; no. 2 bull rider in the world Kody Lostroh (Longmont, Colo.) who is slowly, but surely closing in on that coveted number one position; and Australian wonder Brendon Clark (Morpeth, AU) as well as no. 1 bull rider and Brazilian sensation Guilherme Marchi (Leme, SP, Brazil). The weekend will be Chicago’s final opportunity to see the legendary Adriano Moraes (Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil) who announced that the 2008 BFTS season will be his farewell tour.
The Cooper Tires Invitational will consist of three rounds of competition with the first two rounds featuring the top 45 bull riders randomly matched against the PBR’s toughest bulls. The scores from the two rides will be combined and the top 15 riders will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round following intermission on Sunday where they will compete with one more bull. In the end, the rider with the highest total score on three bulls will be declared the winner.
Fans can also look forward to pre-show entertainment at the Cooper Tires Stage which will be outside of Allstate Arena two hours prior to the action on both Saturday and Sunday. Attendees should expect to see performances by the band Whiskey Falls as well as a possible appearance by two-time PBR World Champion Justin McBride. Whiskey Falls will also provide entertainment for Sunday’s intermission.
Tickets are available for as little as $10 and can be purchased at the Allstate Arena Box Office, Ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 866 448 7849. Fans will enjoy more than two hours of rock & roll music, pyrotechnics, and an up close and personal view of the toughest sport on dirt!
The PBR is the premiere bull riding organization in the world, boasting contestants from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, and Canada, Its events air weekly on VERSUS, NBC, and FOX and in recent years it has been tagged the ‘fastest growing sport in the country.’ For more information on The Cooper Tires Invitational presented to you locally by Troy Bilt, please visit www.pbrnow.com or call Katharine Sherrer at 719 242 2800 ext. 3372.
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About the PBR:
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, 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 one and one half 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., and has over 1,200 PBR bull riders compete in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico.
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