PBR Challenges Arena Gun Policy

An event executive took to Facebook after nearly canceling a bull riding event because of what he perceived as a misinterpretation of gun rules to “force an agenda.”

Professional Bull Riders was set to hold its first event at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 16, when CEO Sean Gleason got wind that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection color guard was being denied entry because its members would not relinquish their firearms to comply with the venue’s no-gun policy.

“As Federal Agents working in an official capacity, they are not allowed to ‘surrender’ their firearms to anyone, especially a security guard working at an arena in Charlotte, NC!!” Gleason wrote the following day on his Facebook page. He went on to describe a series of events that led up to him threatening to cancel the show if the guards were not let in by 8 p.m. At 7:59 p.m., Gleason said, a compromise was offered to have police escort the color guard into the arena.

Gleason said the cancellation would have been the first Built Ford Tough Series event canceled in his company’s history.

Representatives from the 17,421-capacity Spectrum Center, which was formerly Time Warner Cable Arena, could not be reached for comment. A second event took place Sept. 17 in the same venue without issue.

Daily Pulse