Barclays Center August 2024 calendar: 12 ticketed events: seven concerts, three WNBA games, and two bull riding contests, with plaza parties (plus protests?)

The Barclays Center has released its August 2024 event calendar to community members. It includes 12 ticketed events, including three New York Liberty games, two Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions, and seven concerts.

That's a definite upgrade over August 2023, when there were six ticketed events. Maybe the arena's switch to Ticketmaster, allied with concert promoter Live Nation (and an alleged monopoly), is paying off.

Also note that for three days, Aug. 8-10, from 3 pm to 8 pm, there will be a PBR pre-event party on Ticketmaster Plaza, with amplified sound. On Aug. 8, there's not even a ticketed event afterward.

Protest coming?

Note that the Professional Bull Riding competitions likely will generate a protest, according to this Facebook post, which also encourages people to request that the events be canceled because "bull riding involves animal cruelty" and that bulls "are painfully prodded, or electrocuted, or otherwise provoked into 'performing.'"

According to the arena, this is "the inaugural homestand for the New York Mavericks" in the PBR Teams league, which has expanded from eight to ten teams.

From the PBR FAQ:

What is PBR Teams?
PBR Teams takes what was nearly 30 years an individual sport and puts riders on teams. The world’s best compete on teams in 5-on-5 bull riding games during an 12-event regular season culminating in a championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 18-20, 2024.

How many teams are in the league?
There are ten teams competing in the 2024 season. The founding teams are the Arizona Ridge Riders, Austin Gamblers, Carolina Cowboys, Florida Freedom, Kansas City Outlaws, Missouri Thunder, Nashville Stampede, and Texas Rattlers. In 2024, the league expanded, with the New York Mavericks, and Oklahoma Wildcatters joining.

It's worth noting that New York is the odd location out, given that the other home teams are in southern or western/southwestern cities.

An AV/IT conference and a free party

On Thursday Aug. 1, what is described on the calendar as the Future US Conference looks to be the AV/IT Summit, which is sponsored "by AV Technology, System Contractor News and TV Tech, three of the leading brands serving the AV and IT industry for over 25 years."

Also note the free Afrobeats concert party/event at Ticketmaster Plaza Sunday, Aug. 4, with soundcheck starting at 10 am.

August 2023

In August 2023, there were six ticketed events, including three WNBA New York Liberty games, and four concerts. (One concert was canceled.)

The calendar also included six "plaza activations"--four events sponsored by Nike Running from 7-11 am on each Saturday, the Africa Everything event and Angela Yee Day.