Pro bull riders poised for last gig at Thomas & Mack
Veteran bull rider J.B. Mauney has spent the past decade riding bucking bulls at the Professional Bull Riders World Finals at Thomas & Mack Center every fall.
But this weekend will be the last time Mauney and his fellow PBR competitors climb aboard the powerful animals inside Thomas & Mack. After 22 years of staging bull riding events at the arena on the UNLV campus, PBR is moving the organization’s big event to the new $375 million, 20,000-seat arena being built two miles to the west on the Strip behind New York-New York.
Mauney, 28, a wiry, 140-pounder with 39,000 followers on Twitter, doesn’t mind the move to a new arena but he said there is a caveat: “As long as they pay us the same amount.”
Mauney and other bull riders are an unpretentious, blue jean-wearing bunch, so no amount of upscale bells and whistles at the new arena appears to have much effect on the cowboys.
“If it brings more fans, we’re all for it,” said bull rider Kasey Hayes, 30, and Mauney’s bull-riding pal.
The PBR move also represents the first event that is shifting from Thomas & Mack to the arena being built by the 50-50 partnership of MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment company.
The PBR also signed a deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) to stay in Las Vegas for three more years through 2018 to stage the World Finals in the autumn and a Last Cowboy Standing event in the spring. PBR features 35 top bull riders and has paid $140 million in earnings to its competitors through the years.
“The most important thing is that they’re staying in Las Vegas,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, LVCVA CEO/president. “They (PBR) made their decision. They’ll take take advantage of the facilities we have.”
The news about the move to the MGM Resorts-AEG arena came after WME/IMG announced in April that it had purchased the Professional Bull Riders circuit. WME/IMG purchased PBR from Spire Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in New York. Formed in 2014 when WME purchased PBR, WME/PBR owns dozens of sports, entertainment, media and fashion properties.
Sean Gleason, PBR CEO, said staging this week’s event at Thomas & Mack is “bittersweet” because the bull riders have a lot of history at the arena.
“There have been a lot of good times and good memories here, but the reality is that the new arena is the best place in town and that’s where we want to showcase the toughest sport on earth,” Gleason said.
Thomas & Mack isn’t standing pat. While it’s losing the PBR World Finals, the 32-year-old arena is forging ahead with an aggressive $72.5 million building modernization project that includes a hospitality addition, a wider main concourse with new flooring, new signage and more bathrooms and concessions. It’s about 80 percent complete and should be done in March, said Michael Newcomb, arena director.
Thomas & Mack is also the home to the National Finals Rodeo and the NBA Summer League and generates only 16 percent of its revenue from UNLV-related events such as the Runnin’ Rebels basketball team.
“There has been a lot of history at the Thomas & Mack and I’m sure the new arena will be cool too,’ said bull rider Derek Kolbaba, the World Finals’ youngest competitor at age 19.
Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel