Grab your cowboy hats and dust off your boots — bull riding is coming back to New York.
New York’s Professional Bull Riding (PBR) team, the Mavericks, will return to UBS Arena on Oct. 16-18 for Go Bowling Maverick Days, a three-day tour bringing all of the league’s bull riding teams to square off against each other.
Each day will feature five team matches, with the Mavericks finishing each day with the last game square-off. Currently, the Mavericks are set to challenge the Arizona Ridge Riders on Oct. 16, the Florida Freedom on Oct. 17, and the Texas Rattlers on Oct. 18, though the lineup is subject to change.
“We’re heading into two events before the finals, so it’s important; it’s gonna shake up the standings a little bit as you head into the finals. I think it’s a great time for the New York market as well,” said Chris Pantani, general manager of the New York Mavericks.
Dubbed “The Concrete Cowboys,” this is the third official homestand for the New York Mavericks, making their official debut at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2024 before moving over to UBS Arena in 2025. Led by Coach Kody Lohstroh and general manager Chris Pantani, the team is training hard for the upcoming games in their home arena.
“Between their workouts and training sessions, they practice bucking bulls. They have practice bulls that they work on and that helps with timing and balance, and they’ll go through that, through the normal routine. They’re all primed and excited,” said Pantani.
The team will be heading to New York City early, with some members swinging through the New York Islanders game on Oct. 13 to introduce themselves to Islanders fans and setting up activations at the game. On Oct. 15, the team will visit Cohen Children’s Medical Center to meet with patients and set up games thanks to Go Bowling, the team’s brand partner. The kids will be able to take photos with the team, play with an inflatable bowling alley, and enjoy a performance from country music artist Andy Velo.
The team will also host an event at Maple Lanes in Rockville Centre on Oct. 15, giving guests a chance to meet the team and take part in ticket giveaways.
As for Go Bowling Maverick Days, Pantani told amNewYork that Go Bowling is setting up a single-lane bowling alley on the course, so fans can have the opportunity to bowl alongside the team. The Mavericks are also partnering up with Hooked IRL, a social networking app designed to meet people face-to-face at live events, in an effort to have bull riding fans meet each other, romantically or otherwise, at the games this weekend.
“You can actually meet people at the venue that are single people and hopefully form a connection, not only through bull riding, a love connection, wherever it could be. It’s a cool way to have people introduce each other at our events,” said Pantani. “It’s just a way to get single people that wanna go to events but also possibly meet up with others and make friends. As a ticket buyer, ‘I wanna go to an event, but I don’t wanna go by myself,’ this allows them to go to the event by themselves with the notion that they may be able to meet up with other people with the same interests.”
Pantani says that those who attend Go Bowling Maverick Days are in for a very exciting time.
“It’s gonna be so exciting that even though we sell you a full seat, you’re only gonna need the front half of your seat — you’re gonna be on the edge of your seat the whole time,” said Pantani. “It brings that Western Americana culture into the New York market. It’s a combination of two athletes. The bulls are athletes on their own accord, the cowboys are at the top of their game, so you’re bringing two athletes like gladiators into a ring to compete.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit pbr.com.
