PBR is catching momentum

Big Sky Weekly Staff Writer

BIG SKY – The Professional Bullriding Tour is coming back to the Big Sky Town Center July 31 and August 1.

The PBR event committee has begun securing sponsorships, and new details of the event will be announced weekly. Business sponsorships are a critical component to making this event happen, said Eric Ladd, one of the event organizers.

“We build the arena from scratch,” Ladd said. “Bringing this kind of quality act to Big Sky is expensive. Without our sponsors the PBR wouldn’t happen.”

The event will kick off with a free community concert hosted by Big Sky Arts Council on July 31 featuring rising country star Morgan Frazier. Frazier is currently touring the country, performing at country festivals and award shows. That pre-party will include a fundraiser for two local nonprofits, the Big Sky Community Corporation and the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation.

The Arts Council of Big Sky, who collaborated with the PBR event committee to bring Frazier to Big Sky, is happy to help make live music a big part of the event, said Brian Hurlbut, ACBS General Manager. The PBR is “another way we come to together as a community offer more great entertainment.”

The main event at the Big Sky PBR will take place on August 1. The number of tickets available is not yet fixed, as the organizing group is still working to get more bleachers.

This is the main limiting factor to growing this event, Ladd said. “We estimate that we could have sold at least another 1,000 tickets last year if we had more seats.”

A bleacher purchase request is being made to Resort Tax this spring with the hopes of bringing 800 more seats to the Big Sky community for events like this.

Current sponsors for this summer include:

Title Sponsor – Yellowstone Club


Presenting Sponsor – Continental Construction


Big Screen Sponsor – Black Bull


Barrel Sponsor – Fay Ranches


Lodging Sponsor – Big Sky Resort


Ticket Sponsors – Sotheby’s and Ressler – Toyota


Program Sponsor – Sotheby’s


Chute Gate Sponsors – Fay Ranches, Haas Construction, Ressler – Toyota, Jack Daniels, Centre Sky Architecture, STOA Mgt., Lone View Ridge


Banner Sponsors – Bucks T4


Koozie Sponsor – Christies Great Estate


Music Sponsor – Big Sky Arts Council

Rooming and ticket packages will be made available soon at Big Sky Resort. Details for the event can be found at explorebigsky.com/bigskypbr.

Tickets for the general public will go on sale June 15. Event sponsors will be able to secure seats before that time. Vendor spaces and banner sponsors are still available. Interested parties should contact Outlaw Partners at (406) 995-2055.