NEWS

Bass Pro’s Johnny Morris enters Professional Bull Riding with team planned for Ozarks

Ralph Green
Springfield News-Leader

A Professional Bull Riding team is coming to the Ozarks.

The organization announced last week that Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris purchased a founding PBR Team sanction.

The team, which will be named the Missouri Thunder, will launch in June and compete at Thunder Ridge Arena in Ridgedale as part of the new PBR Team Series. The Thunder Ridge venue has hosted concerts before from some of the biggest names in music from Hank Williams Jr. to Dierks Bentley, and many other popular acts.

"We couldn’t be more excited for Johnny Morris and the Bass Pro Shops Missouri Thunder to be a founding member of the PBR Team Series," said Sean Gleason, CEO of PBR, in a news release.  "We believe this is the most transformational development in the world of Western Sports since the formation of the Professional Bull Riders in 1992."

The release says the Missouri Thunder will be directed by General Manager Randy Bernard, the former CEO of the PBR who currently serves as Garth Brooks’ manager. The team will be coached by co-captains and bull riding legends Luke Snyder and Ross Coleman. 

“Many of our customers are passionate PBR fans, and this is a great extension of our brand," Morris said in the release. "We couldn’t be more excited to showcase some of the best bull riders in the world at the Thunder Ridge Nature Arena at Big Cedar Lodge, right here in the Ozarks. Hang on, it’s going to be a fun ride.”

Ralph Green is a business reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Contact him at RAGreen@gannett.com, by phone: (417-536-4061) or on Twitter at RalphGreenNL