Professional Bull Riders returning to Nassau Coliseum in September
Cooper Davis rides a bull named Dead Calm at the 2016 PBR Built Ford Tough Series World Finals in Las Vegas. Credit: Bull Stock Media
With the Professional Bull Riders’ Built Ford Tough Series growing in popularity in the Northeast and around the country, the organization has announced that it will bring the circuit back to a familiar location.
PBR hasn’t appeared on Long Island since 2005, but that will change in late September. The newly renovated Nassau Coliseum will re-open on April 5 and host a series event called Buck Off the Island on Sept. 23 and 24 featuring 35 of the top riders and bulls in the world.
“With its tough-as-nails cowboys squaring off against fearsome bulls ten times their size in epic 8-second bursts of mayhem all night long, the PBR is the right sport for America right now,” PBR CEO Sean Gleason said in a statement. “PBR fans in the Northeast have been asking for a fall event, and we’re thrilled to come back to Long Island and this great building to entertain the passionate fans here like only the PBR can.”
The series kicks off each season with an event in January at Madison Square Garden, and Gleason said the popularity at MSG was partly a reason to bring another event to the area. The tour has gone to MSG each of the past 11 years.
A local Long Islander, who has yet to be named, will be honored at the Coliseum as part of PBR’s Celebrate America Tour, which strives to honor heroes, inspire youth and unite communities.
Gleason said the PBR has grown into a sport that both fans and newcomers can enjoy. It’s as much spectacle as it is sport.
The rides can excite, but eye-popping pyrotechnics and music ranging from rock to country entertain even when the riders aren’t the center of attention.
“It’s a seamlessly integrated show that we’ve honed over 24 years to be very entertaining,” Gleason said.
The season, which culminates in November at the world championships in Las Vegas, will be in its final stretches by the time it reaches the Coliseum, meaning spectators will witness riders vying for late-season positioning.
Tickets go on sale in early summer.
