Ariat joins the Freedom as team’s Official Apparel and Footwear Sponsor, while the Sunshine State’s Eli’s Western Wear is now the Official Retail Sponsor of the Florida Freedom
Florida Freedom to host partnership launch party at Eli’s Western Wear in Okeechobee, Florida on Saturday, July 20
SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Freedom, the Sunshine State’s first-ever professional bull riding team, today announced the addition of Ariat as the team’s Official Apparel and Footwear Sponsor, and Eli’s Western Wear as their Official Retail Sponsor for the 2024 season.
The new-forged partnership will be on full display at the team’s PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Teams Freedom Days homestand inside Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Aug. 2-4, via in-arena signage, in-event promotions, concourse activations and more.
Prior, the Freedom will celebrate its new partners via an official launch at Eli’s Western Wear in Okeechobee, Florida, on Saturday, July 20.
From 11:30 a.m. ET – 3:30 p.m. ET Florida Freedom riders, including Casey Roberts, Gavan Hauck and Caden Bunch, joined by the team’s mascot Freddie Freedom, will be on hand for a day packed with special programming including special discounts on Ariat merchandise, face painting and bullfighter dress up contests for the kids, food trucks and more.
“We are thrilled to welcome both Ariat and Eli’s Western Wear to the Florida Freedom family, two widely respected brands that are synonymous with outfitting champions,” said DeVon Edwards, Associate General Manager of the Florida Freedom. “For more than four decades, both Ariat and Eli’s Western Wear have been pioneering forces across the United States and within Florida, providing customers with top-of-the-line products and customer service, and we look forward to joining forces with them as we establish the Freedom as Florida’s team and America’s bull riding team.”
“We’re excited to partner with Florida Freedom’s official retail partner, Eli’s Western Wear, and to support the team as the official footwear and apparel sponsor,” said Susan Alcala, Vice President of Partnership Marketing at Ariat. “Florida’s first PBR team offers fans a unique chance to witness the grit and courage of the world’s top riders and bulls.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to join forces with Ariat in sponsorship of Florida Freedom,” said the Durrance family, owners of Eli’s Western Wear. “This sponsorship represents a natural fit for us as we celebrate our deep-rooted connection to the western lifestyle. PBR’s dedication to showcasing the athleticism and bravery of both riders and bulls perfectly mirrors our own values of strength, tradition, and passion.”
Ariat was founded in 1993 as “The New Breed of Boot,” and was the first to integrate athletic footwear technology into boots for equestrian athletes. Today, Ariat’s world-class product team builds innovative and award-winning performance products for all types of outdoor and work environments. Ariat is committed to building a different breed of company, one that reflects their core values as a team and those of their customers. Ariat’s values have shaped their success since the company’s founding – a commitment to innovation, quality, integrity, teamwork and respect.
Purchased in 1983, Eli’s Department Store was transformed into Eli’s Western Wear, Inc. when friends Alan Lewis and Roland Durrance launched a business adventure, setting forth to develop the best and most complete western store for the working cowboy, celebrating family values. Today, the store is owned by Roland and Lynda Durrance, Okeechobee, Florida natives working alongside their three sons and their families at Eli’s Western Wear location. Eli’s Western Wear prides itself on being a small town, family business with down-home service and outstanding quality, boasting one of the largest lines of western products in the state of Florida.
The Florida Freedom will host their first-ever Florida homestand, and third event of the regular season, Freedom Days, on Aug. 2-4 in Sunrise, Florida, at Amerant Bank Arena. During their event, they will play the New York Mavericks (Aug. 2), Oklahoma Wildcatters (Aug. 3) and Missouri Thunder (Aug. 4). The Florida Freedom are under the leadership of 2024 Ring of Honor inductee Paulo Crimber, boasting a talent-packed roster that also includes the likes of generational talent John Crimber.
Tickets for the event are on sale now, and start at $20, taxes and fees not included. They can be purchased online at SeatGeek.com and PBR.com, at the Amerant Bank Arena Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
Three-day ticket packages are available, offering fans a 20% discount on select price levels.
For more information about the Florida Freedom visit https://pbr.com/teams/florida-freedom, Florida Freedom on Facebook, @flfreedompbr on Instagram, or @FLFreedomPBR on Twitter.
About the Florida Freedom:
The Florida Freedom is based at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, joining NHL team tenant the Florida Panthers hockey club. The team, who competed in Oklahoma during the league’s first two seasons, will hold its inaugural Florida Freedom Days homestand on August 2-4. Freedom Days will mark the third event of the 2024 regular season for the PBR Camping World Team Series. The Florida Freedom is under the leadership of 10-time PBR World Finals qualifier and Head Coach Paulo Crimber, in addition to Owner and General Manager Heath Freeman. For more information about the Florida Freedom visit https://pbr.com/teams/florida-freedom, Florida Freedom on Facebook, @flfreedompbr on Instagram, or @FLFreedomPBR on Twitter.
About the PBR Camping World Team Series
The PBR Camping World Team Series is an elite league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five games during a 12-event regular season leading to a Team Championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. During the 2024 season, the league’s third, each of the 10 teams – Austin Gamblers of Austin, TX; Arizona Ridge Riders of Glendale, AZ; Carolina Cowboys of Greensboro, NC; Florida Freedom of Sunrise, FL; Kansas City Outlaws of Kansas City, MO; Nashville Stampede of Nashville, TN; New York Mavericks of Brooklyn, NY; OK; Oklahoma Wildcatters of Oklahoma City, OK; Missouri Thunder of Springfield, MO; and Texas Rattlers of Fort Worth, TX – will host a homestand and two Neutral-site games are planned in Anaheim, CA and Duluth, GA.
PBR Teams, launched in July 2022, builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. In events staged in a tournament-style format, all teams compete in head-to-head matchups against a different opponent each day. Each game features five riders per team squaring off against another team. Full team rosters are comprised of seven riders on the Protected Roster and five Reserve riders. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders is declared the winner of each game.
All PBR Teams events are carried on either CBS Television Network, streaming live on Paramount+, and Merit Street Media/Merit+. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR. PBR is part of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
About the Carolina Cowboys:
The Carolina Cowboys are based in Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., where the team will hold its second Cowboys Days homestand on September 22-24, 2023, the eighth event of the 10-event 2023 PBR Team Series regular season. The Cowboys are coached by PBR co-founder Jerome Davis. Under the leadership of General Manager Austin Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 Champion, the team is owned by Richard Childress and Jeff Broin. From a one-man team in 1969, Richard Childress grew Richard Childress Racing (RCR) into one of the most-respected organizations in NASCAR, with nearly 400 team members supporting full-time operations in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. As a car owner, Childress, who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017, has earned more than 200 victories in NASCAR’s top-three national series, 16 championships, three Daytona 500 championships and three Brickyard 400 championships. Away from the track, Childress is a businessman, philanthropist and conservationist – he loves wine, the outdoors, supporting the military, and investing in America’s youth. Childress’ properties include the award-winning Childress Vineyards. He sits on the board of directors of Growth Energy and holds an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Northwestern Ohio. Entrepreneur and agriculturalist Broin is the founder and CEO of bioprocessing giant POET, the world’s largest biofuel producer. Broin and RCR have a longstanding partnership through NASCAR and worked together to upgrade the league to 15% bioethanol.
About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series:
The PBR Team Series is an elite new league that features the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five bull riding games during an 11-event season beginning in July and culminating in a team championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas November 4-6. During the 2022 season, each of the eight teams representing teams in Austin, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Glendale, AZ; Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN; Oklahoma City, OK; Ridgedale, MO; and Winston-Salem, NC will host a three-day homestand. There will also be neutral site games in Cheyenne, WY and Anaheim, CA. To determine team rosters, the league held a rider draft on May 23 prior to start of the 2022 season among any bull riders who have declared for the draft during a league eligibility window. The PBR Team Series builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. Events will be staged in a tournament-style format with all teams competing in head-to-head matchups against a different opponent each day. Each game will feature five riders per team squaring off against another team. Full team rosters will be comprised of seven riders on the core roster and three practice squad members. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders will be declared the winner of each game. The event winner will be the team with the most game wins across an event, with a special bonus round designed as a tie-breaker to determine final event standings. All PBR Team Series events will be carried on either the CBS Television Network, streaming live on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, or RidePass on PlutoTV.
