PRIZE MONEY INCREASES TO $2,355,000, RODEO WILL BE HELD AT AT&T STADIUM MARCH 2ND AND 3RD 2019
(NASHVILLE, TENN. - May 29, 2018) RFD-TV’s THE AMERICAN will become a two-day event making it the richest weekend in western sports at AT&T Stadium. The American added Break-Away Roping and a #9 Team Roping in 2019. The rodeo will be sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and will add $355,000 in additional prize money. The American will be held on March 2-3, 2019 with final qualification rounds on Saturday March 2, 2019 and the finals round on Sunday, March 3, 2019.
AT&T Stadium and RFD-TV have agreed to a five-year deal to host RFD-TV’s The American Rodeo. “We are proud to continue and extend our partnership with Patrick Gottsch and RFD-TV as the hosts of RFD-TV’s the American Rodeo. There is no better venue to experience this ground-breaking event than AT&T Stadium”, said Stephen Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Dallas Cowboys.
RFD-TVs The American will be sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) in 2019. The PRCA is recognized as the unsurpassed leader in sanctioning the sport of professional rodeo and hosts the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) – the ultimate championship for the cowboy. Points earned at The American will count towards NFR qualification.
“The PRCA is the premier rodeo organization in the world, and in a continued effort to bring our fans the biggest and best events, we are proud to be sanctioning The American and partnering with RFD-TV,” PRCA CEO George Taylor said. “This is an exciting time for the PRCA as we open new avenues to improve the sport for our members and fans, and the inclusion of The American is a giant step in that process.”
“RFD-TV is so proud of what’s been accomplished over the past five years with The American”, stated Patrick Gottsch, Founder of Rural Media Group, Inc. “I have so much respect for the PRCA and look forward to working together to take The American to even another level. I thank the Dallas Cowboys for their continued support and really appreciate the opportunity for a full weekend to now take The American to its full potential with this new 5-year agreement”.
RFD-TV has announced the addition of Break-Away Roping to the rodeo’s list of events for 2019. The addition of Break-Away Roping provides another way to impact the growth of Western Sports by adding another thousand qualifiers with the chance to compete at AT&T Stadium.
The World Series of Team Roping will bring a # 9 handicapped Championship Team Roping event to the American with a minimum guaranteed $100,000 in prize money. The # 9 Team roping will be the culmination of several qualifier events with the finals being held at AT&T Stadium on March 2, 2019.
RFD-TV continues to strengthen its commitment to western sports and rodeo competitors with a substantial increase in prize money for the winners of the American for 2019. The American will now pay prize money for all four places. The long round conducted on Saturday, March 3, 2019 will pay $50,000. Listed below are the new payouts for each event in the American Finals.
- First Place $100,000
- Second Place $25,000
- Third Place $10,000
- Fourth Place $5,000
RFD-TV’s The American will continue to work with Better Barrel Races and Ultimate Calf Roping for The American.
Since its debut in 2014, THE AMERICAN has paid out to rodeo contestants more than $15,000,000 at the qualifiers, Semi-Finals and Finals. Each year the top rodeo athletes in the world in each of the seven rodeo events are invited to compete at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. With this unique “open” format, anyone can qualify for this prestigious event through a series of qualifiers which are currently underway around the U.S. Event dates and results and can be found at AmericanRodeo.com. Learn how to qualify for RFD-TV’s The American here.
For press assets (photos, videos, etc), click HERE.
Media Contacts:
e: pr@rfdtv.com, (402) 296-9332
Billy Frey, Chief Marketing Officer, RFD-TV, e: billy@rfdtv.com, o: (615) 296-9357
About the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association:
The PRCA, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is recognized as the unsurpassed leader in sanctioning the sport of professional rodeo. The recognized leader in ProRodeo, the PRCA’s mission is to unify membership in providing an innovative fan experience, to grow the sport of professional rodeo and provide new expanded opportunities for our membership and sponsors. Since 1986, the PRCA has paid out more than $1 billion in prize money to its contestants. The PRCA offers the best cowboys and the best rodeos; delivering the best fan experience while positively impacting our communities and embracing the spirit of the West. A membership-based organization, the PRCA sanctioned 650 rodeos in 2017, and there are more than 40 million rodeo fans in the U.S. PRCA premier events include the world-renowned Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour, Justin Finale, RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo and All American ProRodeo Finals. PRCA-sanctioned rodeos raise tens of millions of dollars for local and national charities every year. For comprehensive coverage of the cowboy sport, read the ProRodeo Sports News, the official publication of the PRCA, and make sure to check out the digital edition of the PSN. The digital PSN and daily updates of news and results can be found on the PRCA’s official website, www.prorodeo.com.
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go to www.attstadium.com.
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About Rural Media Group, Inc. (RMG):
Rural Media Group, Inc. is the world’s leading provider of multimedia content dedicated to the rural and Western lifestyle. With a mission of reconnecting “city with country,” RMG is the parent company of RFD-TV (52 million homes), RURAL RADIO Channel 147 on SiriusXM Radio (33 million units), The Cowboy Channel (42 million homes), and RFD-TV The Magazine. RMG networks are distributed worldwide by DBS, telco and cable systems, including DISH, DIRECTV®, Comcast, AT&T U-Verse, Mediacom, Charter Spectrum, Suddenlink, Cox, and more than 600 independent rural cable systems. Corporate headquarters are in Omaha, Nebraska; broadcast operations are in Nashville, Tennessee for RFD-TV and RURAL RADIO Channel 147 on SiriusXM Radio, and in the Fort Worth (Texas) Stockyards for The Cowboy Channel.
About The Cowboy Channel, RFD-TV & Rural Radio XM147:
The Cowboy Channel is the first 24-hour television network totally dedicated to western sports and the western lifestyle. Headquartered in the Fort Worth Stockyards, The Cowboy Channel features content focused on rodeo, bull riding, roping, reining, barrel racing, and other western sports genres, along with western fashion, music, and movies. The lineup also features a wide variety of “live” coverage from major western events showcasing the world’s toughest and most talented cowboys and cowgirls. The network enjoys distribution into 42 million homes on cable/satellite systems on DISH, DIRECTV®, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Spectrum, Cox, Comcast, Mediacom, Verizon FIOS TV, and many other rural cable systems. In addition, The Cowboy Channel can be streamed via Sling TV’s Heartland Extra package.
RFD-TV is the flagship network for Rural Media Group. Launched in December of 2000, RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television network featuring programming focused on the agribusiness, equine and the rural lifestyles, along with traditional country music and entertainment. RFD-TV produces six hours of live news each weekday in support of rural America and is a leading independent cable channel available in more than 52 million homes on DISH, DIRECTV®, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Spectrum, Cox, Comcast, Mediacom, Suddenlink, and many other rural cable systems. In addition, RFD-TV can be streamed online via The Country Club at rfdcc.com, DIRECTV NOW, Roku, and Sling TV’s Heartland Extra package.
Rural Radio XM147 Found exclusively on SiriusXM Channel 147, RURAL RADIO 147 is the agribusiness and Western-lifestyle channel for the U.S. and Canada. RURAL RADIO 147’s program schedule revolves around original productions focused on agriculture, equine, hunting, fishing, Western sports, and living the country life in small towns around rural America. Broadcast operations for the station are located in Nashville, Tennessee. The channel airs multiple exclusive news and agriculture series along with live broadcasts of Western sports competitions from the PBR, PRCA rodeos, and WPCA Chuckwagon races.