PBR finals pull out of Saskatoon, and into Grande Prairie, for 2020
PBR Canada's long-running Saskatoon finale is shifting one province over.
The national bull-riding circuit plans to crown a champion Nov. 5-7 in Grande Prairie, Alta., and not Nov. 13-14 at Saskatoon's Sasktel Centre. Jason Davidson, the general manager of PBR Canada, said the difference in COVID-19 regulations between the two provinces made a move to Alberta easier.
“We haven't got this far with PBR in Canada making poor business decisions,” Davidson said Thursday. “It was an opportunity to move the event somewhere where we'd have an opportunity to crown a national champion, and that's what Grande Prairie has given us.”
Grande Prairie was already on the PBR schedule. But instead of a regular touring event, it will now be a championship and the heavily interrupted season will end a week early.
Davidson said initial indications were that they could put 150 people in the stands for the finals in Saskatoon, which would have been difficult to make work financially.
“We've seen now some regulations are loosening in Saskatchewan,” he says, “but the planning that goes into this event, we couldn't pull that off in three weeks.
“They were moving faster with their restrictions,” he added of the decision to move the final to Grande Prairie, “and it gave us an opportunity. And we had a promoter willing to invest with PBR, and that's been the No. 1 reason why we're able to finish this season up in Grande Prairie.”
Riders will compete for $27,500 in prize money, and a $20,000 bonus for the winner of the Canadian championship.
COVID- based regulations include masks, temperature screening, pod seating to increase distancing in the stands, and widespread sanitization.
Davidson said just how many people they'll be able to accommodate remains a “moving target” but he hopes to get clearance for 300 to 400.
Most of this season's PBR Canada events were cancelled after the pandemic hit, with a few isolated exceptions. Davidson said they usually pay out three-quarters of a million to $1 million in prize money through the season; this year, that number is closer to $125,000.
“It got real, quite fast, on what kind of an impact COVID was having on our livelihoods,” he said.
Kindersley's Dakota Buttar leads the PBR standings with 277.5 points, ahead of Brock Radford of Dewinton, Alta. (178) and Garrett Green of Meeting Creek, Alta. (176). Rounding out the top five are Maple Creek's Jared Parsonage (137) and Ponoka's Zane Lambert (109.5).
“(The November stop) gives an opportunity to get through the
2020 season, put 2020 behind us, crown our national champion, then look forward to 2021,” Davidson said. “We have a rich history of PBR bull riding in Saskatoon. It wasn't a decision that was met without a lot of discussion, but it's a testament of what the landscape looks like out there in the entertainment business.”
Dylan Swearingen of Piffard, N.Y. won last year's Canadian title
during the 10th consecutive final at Sasktel Centre, clinching on a bull named Tykro Pound Sand. He earned $50,000 for the Canadian title, and $17,500 for winning the event.
While COVID-19 remains wildly unpredictable, Davidson said plans are underway to return to Saskatoon for 2021.