Cowtown Coliseum is a 2,400-seat arena in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, that hosts weekly rodeos. It also occasionally hosts concerts and local team sporting events.
The venue was built in 1908 and was originally known as Grand Coliseum.[1] Part of the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, the structure is the first ever indoor arena for rodeos in the United States. The building was refurbished in 1986.[2]
The Stockyards Championship Rodeo has been held at Cowtown Coliseum almost every Friday and Saturday since 1992. The venue also occasionally holds events sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR), Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA), and Bulls, Bands & Barrels (BBB). During holiday weekends, the Stockyards Championship Rodeo is also held on Sunday.[3]
The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) held their very first event in April 1993 at Cowtown Coliseum. In late December 1993, the venue was the first stop of the 1994 inaugural season of the PBR's Bud Light Cup Series.[4] In February 2021, the PBR's elite series, now known as the Unleash the Beast Series, returned to Cowtown Coliseum for the first time since 1993 to host an event.[5] In 2022, the PBR's Challenger Series hosted Sunday events known as PBR Sundays at Cowtown at the venue from June through August.[6] Since 2023, the PBR hosts Touring Pro Division and Challenger Series events known as Stockyards Showcase at the Coliseum on most Thursdays of the calendar year. PBR Stockyard Showcase events are the kickoff to the Stockyards Championship Rodeo held on Fridays and Saturdays.[7] These bull-riding events were previously held on Fridays and sanctioned by the now-defunct Championship Bull Riding (CBR) organization as part of its Horizon Series in the 2010s.[8] Since 2024, the PBR World Finals are held at two different venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex; the first six days are held at Cowtown Coliseum, then the final two days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.[9] Since that same year, the PBR Team Series' Texas Rattlers hold their annual three-day hometown event, Rattler Days, in two different venues. During its first two years, all three days of the event were held at Dickies Arena (also in Fort Worth). However, since 2024, the first day is held at Cowtown Coliseum, while the next two days are held at Dickies Arena.[10]
Since mid-October 2023, after the conclusion of the PBR Stockyards Showcase on Thursday and the Stockyards Championship Rodeo on Friday and Saturday, American freestyle bullfighting sanctioned by the Ultimate Bullfighters (UBF) is held on Sunday. Cowtown Coliseum has been the home of the UBF World Finals every December since 2021.[3]
On four select Sundays of the year, an event called Mexico En La Sangre (Mexico In Our Blood) also takes place at the Coliseum. It features charrería (Mexican rodeo), Mexican folk dances, and dancing horses.[3]
Elvis Presley performed there four times from 1955 to 1956 when it was known as North Side Coliseum.[14]Ike & Tina Turner performed at North Side Coliseum in 1966.[15]
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