BILLINGS – Despite the Professional Bull Riders Tour nearly cutting its season in half under a restructured format, Billings will make the cut yet again, and in dramatic fashion.
First Interstate Arena will mark the final Unleash the Beast regular season stop of 2022, going from April 29 to May 1, and the last chance for competitors to make the PBR World Finals cut. That Finals open May 13 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Billings remains the longest-standing and smallest stop on tour approaching 27 straight years of PBR Unleash the Beast events.
The PBR's 2022 schedule also is highlighted by a new location for the New Year’s Day season opener, a variety of midweek events, and a new location for the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, in Corpus Christi, Texas, May 6-7, where the tour will crown its champion and qualify riders for the PBR World Finals.
Starting in 2022, the usual year-long Unleash The Beast and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour seasons, which traditionally paused for a summer break, will now unfold within five months from January to May.
"These changes will provide more consistency to the PBR season without a momentum-sapping break as riders chase a world championship," the group said in a media release.
The pair of PBR tours will combine for 50 events in the first 19 weeks of 2022.
The new season will launch in Indianapolis for a one-night only New Year’s event and culminate with the 2022 PBR World Finals at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas May 13-22.
In conjunction with PBR World Finals, the 2022 Women’s Rodeo World Champions will also be crowned inside Dickies Arena. The first three rounds will be held in Cowtown Coliseum May 16-17 with the final two unfolding during the PBR World Finals.
Following the Indianapolis stop riders head to historic Madison Square Garden in New York City January 7-9. The league’s 15th visit to the “World’s Most Famous Arena” will mark the season's first three-day event.
“After we crown a 2021 world champion for the final time this November in Las Vegas, starting in Indianapolis on New Year’s Day is going to be ground-breaking for PBR with major changes in store adding even more excitement to our sport,” said Sean Gleason, Commissioner and CEO of the PBR. “The 2022 season will be like no other in action and drama."
2022 PBR Schedules: All events subject to change
| 2022 Unleash The Beast Tour | ||
| Date | City | Venue |
| 1/1 | Indianapolis | Gainbridge Fieldhouse |
| 1/7-9 | New York City | Madison Square Garden |
| 1/14-15 | Chicago | Allstate Arena |
| 1/22-23 | Duluth, Georgia | Gas South Arena |
| 1/28-30 | Sacramento | Golden 1 Center |
| 2/4-5 | Milwaukee | Fiserv Forum |
| 2/11-12 | Oklahoma City | Paycom Center |
| 2/18-19 | St. Louis | Enterprise Center |
| 2/21-22 | Los Angeles | STAPLES Center |
| 2/25-26 | Little Rock | Simmons Bank Arena |
| 3/12-13 | Glendale, Arizona | Gila River Arena |
| 3/18-19 | Kansas City | T-Mobile Center |
| 3/25-27 | Albuquerque | The PIT |
| 4/1-3 | Sioux Falls | Denny Sanford PREMIER Center |
| 4/6-7 | Everett, Washington | Angel of the Winds Arena |
| 4/9-10 | Tacoma, Washington | TacomaDome |
| 4/22-23 | Nampa, Idaho | Ford Idaho Center |
| 4/29-5/1 | Billings, Montana | MetraPark |
| 5/13-22 | Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena |
| 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour | ||
| Date | City | Venue |
| 1/7-8 | Reno, Nevada | Reno Events Center |
| 1/14-15 | Cedar Park, Texas | H-E-B Center |
| 1/15 | Portland, Oregon | Moda Center |
| 1/22 | Spokane, Washington | Spokane Arena |
| 1/22 | Greenville, South Carolina | Bon Secours Wellness Center |
| 1/28-29 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Van Andel Arena |
| 1/29 | Jacksonville, Florida | Veterans Memorial Arena |
| 2/4-5 | North Charleston, South Carolina | North Charleston Coliseum |
| 2/5 | Lexington, Kentucky | Rupp Arena |
| 2/11-12 | Youngstown, Ohio | Covelli Center |
| 2/12 | Memphis, Tennessee | FedEx Forum |
| 2/18-19 | Wellington, Florida | Palm Springs Equestrian Center |
| 2/19 | Knoxville, Tennessee | Thompson-Boling Arena |
| 2/26 | Worchester, Massachusetts | DCU Arena |
| 3/5 | Hampton, Virginia | Hampton Coliseum |
| 3/5 | Charleston, West Virginia | Charleston Coliseum |
| 3/11-13 | Bangor, Maine | Cross Insurance Center |
| 3/12 | Dayton, Ohio | Nutter Center |
| 3/18-19 | Wheeling, West Virginia | WesBanco Arena |
| 3/19-20 | Fresno, California | Save Mart Center |
| 3/26 | Oakland, California | Oakland Arena |
| 4/1 | San Luis Obispo, California | Cal Poly Royal |
| 4/2 | Casper, Wyoming | Casper Events Center |
| 4/8-9 | College Station, Texas | Reed Arena |
| 4/23 | Wichita, Kansas | Intrust Bank Arena |
| 4/30 | Grand Forks, North Dakota | ALERUS Center |
| 5/6-7 | Corpus Christi, Texas | American Bank Center |
(PBR media contributed to this story)
