The gamble on staging the season opener in the brash desert city appears to be paying off – but the real promised land is still a long way off
Bigger, bolder and better. The desert dust had barely settled on the NRL’s first trip to Las Vegas before league boss Andrew Abdo was doubling down. With a longer runway to plan and prepare for the rugby league extravaganza the next time around, the NRL chief executive was soon promising to go even larger. Now that the league has arrived at its destination, there are more fans in town, more events on the ground, and teams from more countries putting the finishing touches on their own show. Twice as many matches as last year are still to come when all the off-field glitz and glamour are put to one side and the quadruple-header finally kicks off at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).
The NRL was quick to talk up the wins, no matter how big or small, from its first foray on to the rocky terrain of the US sporting landscape last year. A crowd of 40,746 was the largest for a rugby league game on American soil. More than 23,000 of those tickets were sold in the US. Tickets were bought in another 30 countries. New subscriptions to the international streaming app Watch NRL soared 167% – admittedly from a low base – compared to the same period leading into the previous season. And, most hopefully, an average of 61,000 Americans households watched the Sea Eagles’ win over the Rabbitohs, while 44,000 later watched the Roosters defeat the Broncos.
