PBR World Finals Hits the Road, Bringing Bull Riding’s Biggest Stage to Arizona

Some of the world’s most famous sporting events, including the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, and the modern Olympics, have no permanent home.

Now, PBR World Finals is going that route, set to hopscotch the country to share the thrills and spills where the largest crowds enjoy the most exciting sports.

PBR, in partnership with Arizona Sports & Events Alliance, today announced the 2027 PBR World Finals: Championship will be held in Glendale, Ariz., at Desert Diamond Arena from May 20-23, bringing one of the most grueling and electrifying championships in sports to a new market as part of a long-term vision to continue to grow the sport nationwide. 

The announcement was made ahead of this Thursday’s start of PBR World Finals: Championship at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth (May 14-17). 

At the halfway point of the 8-day event, the tour’s Top 3 ranked cowboys – No. 1 John Crimber, No. 2 Brady Fielder and No. 3 Sage Steele Kimzey – are separated by only 179.5 points.

The 2026 YETI Bull of the Year race is as close as anyone can remember. Pegasus, Ransom, and Buck Nasty are separated by just 0.61 of a point heading into the final outs of the season.

The first 4 rounds of World Finals began at Cowtown Coliseum last weekend (May 7-10), selling out all four days. Splitting the rounds between two venues will be next year’s plan as well. The grueling eight-day championship will again open at the iconic birthplace of PBR, then conclude in Glendale.

Bringing the PBR World Finals Across the Country

“We’re adopting a model to start moving the biggest and best event in Western sports to great locations supportive of sports and the Western lifestyle,” said PBR CEO and Commissioner Sean Gleason breaking the news on 96.3 Arizona’s Real Country Morning Show with Rick Kelly. “Glendale sure fits that model – we’ve been in the Phoenix-Glendale area with PBR twenty-plus years, have a great fan base with the Ridge Riders in the team series here, and the Arizona Sports & Events Alliance made it possible for us.”  

Gleason also credited PBR’s parent company TKO for forging a multi-year partnership to bring some of TKO’s most high-profile events to Arizona, including World Finals. PBR’s marquee event was the first to be announced.

A large and passionate fan base awaits the individual championship. In the Glendale-Phoenix region, PBR has staged premier events since 2024. The Arizona Ridge Riders, one of 10 teams competing in the PBR Teams league founded in 2022, will have their fifth homestand at Desert Diamond Arena on Oct. 9-11.

As soon as the Glendale announcement was made on Wednesday, calls began pouring into PBR’s customer service offices at its Fort Worth headquarters in Mule Alley to purchase tickets at Desert Diamond Arena.

One fan, Paul Porter, who goes to nearly two dozen PBR events a year with his wife Kathey, was a bit frustrated with timing. Unfortunately, he and Kathey would be flying from Memphis back to Dallas when tickets go on sale on Thursday at 10 a.m. MST at PBRWorldFinals.com/2027.

The couple attended the 2026 World Finals four-day opening weekend at Cowtown Coliseum, went home to Tennessee on Monday, and will return for the final four days in Dickies Arena. 

Unable to check out seats and sightlines from an airplane, they left their credit card number with the rep. “Just get us as close to the dirt as possible,” Porter said.

PBR World Finals may not have a permanent home, but wherever it goes will be home for the Porters.

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