Professional Bull Riders to Bring BLUEDEF VELOCITY TOUR to Joe Louis Arena, 8/2

Michigan bull riding fans will get the opportunity to experience the toughest sport on dirt when the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) "BlueDEF Velocity Tour" comes to Joe Louis Arena on Saturday, August 2 at 7 p.m. for one night only.

Tickets ($13, $23, $38, $53 and $78) go on sale Friday, May 2 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, The Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. Group discounts are available by calling 313-471-3099. For additional information, call (313) 471-6611.

The PBR features some of the best up and coming bull riders in the world facing off with foes nearly 10 times their weight during the most thrilling 8 seconds in sports. The average weight of a bull rider is about 160 pounds. The average weight of a PBR bull is about 1700 pounds with the largest bull on the tour weighing well over 2100 pounds.

The PBR "BlueDEF Velocity Tour" kicked off in Reno, Nv. on January 18 and will make stops in cities such as Omaha, Neb., Salt Lake City, Utah, Los Angeles, Calif., Cincinnati, Ohio, Louisville, Ky. and Minneapolis, Minn. this year.

Select events will be broadcast on PBR LIVE, a CBS Interactive digital broadcast platform. PBR LIVE is a partnership between the PBR and CBS Interactive, offering more than 100 digital broadcasts annually. The "BlueDEF Velocity Tour" broadcasts on PBR LIVE represent the first time that PBR fans will be able to view a regular schedule of non-BFTS events, a long-standing request from PBR's passionate fans.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR): The world's premier bull riding organization, the PBR, turns 21 in 2014. In just two decades, the dream of 20 bull riders has become a global sports phenomenon with PBR broadcasts reaching more than half a billion households in 50 nations and territories around the world, and more than 2.5 million fans attending live events each year. PBR has paid out more than $130 million in earnings to its athletes, and 27 riders have earned more than $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million ? the most of any western sports athlete in history. For more information on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.