PBR Iron Cowboy Competition Returns to Arlington Feb. 24, 2018
By Office of Communication
Posted on January 19, 2018, January 19, 2018

Jess Lockwood

2017 World Champion Jess Lockwood will be competing in the PBR Iron Cowboy at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Feb. 24, 2018.
Photo Credit: PBR

Standing on the sidelines of a practice facility three years before AT&T Stadium would become a reality in Arlington, former Professional Bull Riders CEO Randy Bernard and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talked about the continued growth of the PBR and the general excitement that surrounds America's original extreme sport.

Jones mused about hosting sports like professional bull riding at his new state-of-the-art facility that would be built in Arlington's Entertainment District. The conversation ended with a handshake and an agreement to stage a one-day, one-of-a-kind PBR event at the stadium shortly after it opened.

In 2010, that dream became a reality when the PBR hosted the first Iron Cowboy Invitational at the new stadium. The single-day, bracket-style elimination tournament drew a record 46,500 fans, who were on hand to see Valdiron de Oliveira win $260,000, the then largest single-day payout in league history. PBR found a true home.

The 25th PBR: Unleash the Beast tour on Feb. 24, 2018, will mark the ninth consecutive year that AT&T Stadium has hosted this event, a testament to the event's popularity. For one night only, the top-40 stars of the "toughest sport on dirt" will tackle the world's highest ranked bulls, striving to make the 8-second buzzer. If a rider stays on his bull for the required eight seconds, he continues to compete. If he gets bucked off, he is finished. The riders will continue to compete until one cowboy prevails and is declared the Iron Cowboy.

"Our incredibly exciting PBR World Finals showed the emergence of great, young bull-riding talent, and we're looking forward to seeing these new stars compete alongside veteran cowboys in one of the best events of the year in one of the best cities in which we compete," PBR CEO Sean Gleason said.

2017 World Champion Jess Lockwood will be competing in the PBR Major. Lockwood, who trains in Bowie, Texas, made history in November, becoming the youngest World Champion cowboy in PBR history. He is 22 years old.

"I love riding at AT&T Stadium. It's the coolest, biggest, most awesome venue we'll ride in during our regular season," Lockwood said. "Even though it's so big, we get good crowds and it can get really loud. That makes it a lot of fun."

Tickets for the Iron Cowboy are available for purchase at the AT&T Stadium Box Office, at Ticketmaster.com, or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, will host several high-profile events this year, including, the NFL Draft in April.

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