Las Vegas and the PBR have agreed on an extension of their partnership through ’18. Las Vegas originally partnered with PBR in ’95 and will continue to host two Built Ford Tough Series events each year -- the Cowboy Spring Break in March and the BFTS World Finals, which take place this week. Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority Senior VP/Marketing Cathy Tull in a statement called the partnership a “natural fit for both brands.” Financial terms of the deal were not available. The extension of the LVCVA deal comes on the heels of the PBR going through a restructuring of sorts with its event marketing team. PBR has created teams for three areas nationally -- one in the east, the west, as well as a central region. Before, all event marketing professionals were based out of PBR’s Pueblo, Colo., HQ. The teams will consist of 8-10 people -- each region currently hosts 7-10 BFTS events. The purchase of PBR by WME-IMG earlier this year, which is examined in this week's issue of Time magazine, provided the series the opportunity for the change, PBR VP/Event Marketing Ellen Newberg said. “This has been a topic of conversation and one we’ve wanted to do for quite some time,” Newberg said. “We’ve been able to utilize their (WME-IMG’s) resources. It’s affording us the opportunity to live eat and breathe out markets, live in them 365 days a year and be part of the community.” Newberg said PBR wanted to implement the changes because the series’ most successful events are those that “have boots on the ground every day of the year.” While adding events may be on the agenda down the road, PBR CEO Sean Gleason said the goal of the new plan is to build on the tour’s current BFTS stops. “There is a lot of growth and opportunity in our existing events. They’re very successful but there’s still a capacity to sell,” Gleason said. “Our challenge is not in the product we offer, it’s continuing to expose the sport to new fans and get them to come out to events.”
