Australia’s National Rugby League kicks off its 2024 campaign in Las Vegas on Saturday, an unprecedented US launch that could boost the sport on American soil.
The NRL, which has never staged season matches at US venues, has signed a five-year deal to play 10 matches at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders where the Super Bowl was played only three weeks ago.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs, owned by actor Russell Crowe, will face the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the Vegas opener followed by the Sydney Roosters meeting the Brisbane Broncos, who lost last year’s Grand Final to the three-time defending champion Penrith Panthers.
“To be part of something that will always be in the history of our game and to be able to run out on Allegiant Stadium where the Super Bowl was played is pretty surreal,” Sea Eagles winger Jason Saab said.
“I don’t think it will hit me until we run out. That will be the moment when you really feel the excitement of what we’re about to do for the game.”
NRL officials want to grow the sport beyond hotbed Australia. They hope the fast-paced, hard-hitting nature of the sport will appeal to American football fans, even without the pads and helmets used in the US game.
“This is not just about one event and then coming home. We’re committed to growth and have taken a long-term strategic view to this project,” NRL chief executive officer Andrew Abdo told Forbes.
“This is about growing our fan base in the US and developing a following throughout the season and over time.”
NRL matches usually are televised in the middle of the US night but these will show off rugby league’s finest in prime time across the nation and from a city enjoying a sports boom.
“We’re taking rugby league to the Entertainment capital of the world,” Abdo said. “This is ambitious but we’re 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.”
Former Roosters and St. George Illawarra Dragons player Daniel Patrick, who departed 13 years ago for a US fashion design career, likes the NRL’s chances of capturing a slice of the US sports market.
“America is where you go to make it, and I think it’s exciting what the NRL is doing,” he told the league’s website. “I really believe the NRL can get a global audience if they stay the course.”
Australian rugby league backers have been trying to gain a foothold in the United States for nearly a century, Queensland teams visiting in the 1920s, Australia playing New Zealand in Los Angeles 70 years ago and even a State of Origin match at Long Beach.
Nothing, however, made a lasting impression — something the NRL hopes to change.
– ‘An untapped goldmine’ –
Beyond matches, however, would be the creation of a proposed 10-team North American league, possibly with NRL backing, to help establish the sport in US markets.
With Sea Eagles owner Scott Penn said to be among those looking at investing in a North American league, 35-year-old Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans says he wouldn’t mind closing his career in a new US circuit.
“If Scott wants to get it rolling, I’m happy,” Cherry-Evans told the NRL website. “It’s nice for the owner of my current club pushing for an American opportunity and that’s an easy transition for me.”
Cherry-Evans said a US league would appeal to Australian talent, from young players with families hoping to see the world or single players anxious for a change of pace.
Rugby League America boss Steve Scanlan told News Corp. that his group has started talks with the NRL in hopes of working together.
“We don’t necessarily expect the NRL to invest financially,” he said. “But if we could have co-branding and form a partnership with the NRL, this can be an untapped goldmine.”
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