Penrith Panthers celebrate winning the NRL title. Beginning in March 2024, the U.S. will host live ... [+]
On March 2nd, 2024 Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will play home to a season opening double-header of bone-crunching rugby league action. National Rugby League (NRL) - one of Australia’s most popular and lucrative sports leagues - has signed a five-year deal to play ten matches at the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The games will be the first ever NRL matches played on U.S. soil, and they will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1, allowing potential fans around the country and the Caribbean to catch their first glimpses of the fast-paced sport.
Like American football, rugby league is a full-contact sport known for huge collisions, explosive athletes and exhilarating play with an oval shaped ball. That’s where the similarities with NFL football end. In rugby league there are no pads, the ball can’t be passed forward, players play both offense and defense and they score tries, not touchdowns - although tries ironically involve a player touching the ball down beyond the opposing team’s goal line.
The NRL’s first ever venture in the U.S. will see the South Sydney Rabbitohs (owned by actor Russel Crowe) take on the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. That game will be followed by the Sydney Roosters against the Brisbane Broncos. The Rabbitohs are the team with the most (21) titles in NRL history. The Roosters are their fierce rivals. Last season’s runners-up, the Brisbane Broncos will hope to take down the Roosters in the second of the two games, and all four teams will be aiming to wrestle the NRL title from the three-time defending champion Penrith Panthers.
The Deal
The five-year deal between Allegiant Stadium and the NRL was announced at a live press conference held by NRL CEO Andrew Abdo on December 12th. Star players from each of the four participating teams were in attendance: Spencer Leniu - Sydney Roosters, Campbell Graham - South Sydney Rabbitohs, Billy Walters - Brisbane Broncos and Aaron Woods- Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. It also doubled as a platform to announce a partnership between the NRL and the UFC, which will see the fighting promotion and rugby competition do a number of joint marketing activities, with the aim of developing crossover interest and increasing fanbases.
The five-year, ten match agreement has been backed by News Corp Chairman Lachlan Murdoch, who himself is a Brisbane Broncos fan, and it builds on the established relationships between the NRL, the Las Vegas Raiders, the UFC and the Las Vegas Convention Authority.
NRL executives are betting that their product, which has over a century of history in Australia, will begin to make inroads into the psyche of U.S. sports fans. The deal is a long-term approach to growing the sport, and another bet on the strength of the U.S. sports market. While the NRL is wildly popular in Australia, the league needs to find fans outside of its traditional market. Exporting the game to the United States, a country with thirteen times the population and strong appetite for sports, makes financial sense, and could help ensure greater viewing numbers in the coming years.
CEO Andrew Abdo insists, “This is not just about one event and then coming home. We are committed to growth and have taken a long-term strategic view to this project. This is about growing our fan base in the US and developing a following throughout the season and over time. We are fortunate that we have a Chairman and Commission that is committed to growing the game and exploring new ideas and initiatives. It is a truly historic time for the game.”
Fetalaiga Pauga of the Sydney Roosters scores a try. Fans will be able to see him play in Las Vegas ... [+]
Las Vegas
To grow the sport and draw in new fans, the NRL will look to capitalize on the recent wave of sports investment in Las Vegas. Sin City is quickly becoming one of the major sport-entertainment capitals of the world, with F1, UFC, the NFL, the NHL and MLB now basing teams and hosting major events there. Abdo anticipates a strong mix of local fans and foreign fans in attendance, with over 10,000 Australian fans having already booked their tickets to the bucket list destination.
Logistically speaking, Las Vegas in March also made perfect sense. Located in the Pacific Time zone, the city can host prime time games that will reach the east coast of the U.S. and Australia at desirable viewing times. Moreover, the brand new Allegiant Stadium is a technologically innovative venue with a large capacity that will play host to the Super Bowl just a month earlier. And by playing the double header in early March, the NRL starts its season one week earlier - exciting fans back home - and avoids airwave competition from both the NFL and MLB.
In the sport-entertainment capital of the U.S, the NRL expects its high-speed, collision sport to be easily understood and captivating. Abdo hopes that new viewers will feel the culture and tribalism that fuel the sport, while being engaged by the fluid and fast action the game delivers. For comparison, in an 80 minute game of rugby league, the average ball in play time is roughly 56 minutes. In an average 60 minute NFL game, there are only 18 minutes of football action. So fans will get almost three times the action for their $19 ticket.
The sport’s frequency of tackles, tries, passes and intercepts also makes it an ideal product for sports betting. As such, it makes sense the NRL has positioned itself to host 10 games in the U.S. capital of sports betting. Abdo insists that the NRL is developing a national strategy for sports wagering and the organization will be choosing an official partner with care.
He summarizes the selection of Las Vegas as a partner city like so: “We are taking Rugby League to the Entertainment capital of the world. This is ambitious but we are doing it because we believe in our game. We are investing in our players, our clubs and the sport because we know this is a stage where Rugby League belongs. “
“We have been strategic in our promotion of the event. Las Vegas is expensive and we don’t have millions of dollars we can throw at advertising and the like. What we do have though is a sport that is attractive to watch and is easy to understand. Our players are also the best of the best in their sport and amongst the best athletes in the world.”
Tevita Tatola of the Rabbitohs is tackled during the NRL Preliminary Final match between the Penrith ... [+]
The Week Of
Abdo says that the reaction to the deal from both fans and the participating clubs has been “overwhelmingly positive.” The clubs were looped into every step of the plan, and will be using the week before the opening day matches as a mini pre-season camp. The Brisbane Broncos will be using the LA Rams practice facilities. The Roosters will also be based in LA, and the Rabbitohs will be a bit further south in San Diego, before heading over to Vegas for their game. Thanks to the NRL’s newly-minted partnership agreement with the UFC, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles will have the luxury of using the state-of-the-art UFC training center in the week leading up to their game.
Fans have shown excitement about the possibility of sharing their sport with a new audience and traveling to a new destination to see their favorite teams. In an effort to generate further excitement, the NRL will be putting on an entire week of events where fans and businesses can enjoy themselves, network and further potential partnerships. The Australian-American partnership week will feature an Australian food and wine event, a golf day and potentially a title fight between an Australian and an American boxer to promote cross-cultural ties and competition.
Most notably however, the NRL will be using the week to help grow the sport and create player pathways alongside USA Rugby League. Two initiatives that form part of this strategy are a talent combine, similar to the one the NFL holds, and a “Rugby League Vegas Nines” grassroots tournament. Both events will be open to men and women, and will encourage those who think they have the skills to play the game to demonstrate their skills with the potential to be recruited by a professional team.
The NRL is pouring plenty of time and capital into its long-term plan to capture the American market and grow the game beyond its borders. The question now is, whether North American sports fans will see rugby league as an exciting new sport to watch, play and bet on, or something foreign that captures the attention for a few seconds between the NFL and MLB seasons.
