National Rugby League Comes To Vegas To Grow Sport, Leverage Broadcast Deals; Allegiant Stadium Site Of NRL Season’s First Games
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It was the season kick-off for the National Rugby League all-day Saturday and the Australian rugby league picked Las Vegas to pump up its brand and sport in hopes of garnering more global appeal.
The National Rugby League showcased teams and games under the dome at Allegiant Stadium, home of the National Football League Raiders, to get the juices flowing for the more than 45,000 fans expected for Saturday’s matches.
The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, the public tourism agency charge with attracting tourists to the Las Vegas market and southern Nevada, often uses sports events and ads to amplify the Vegas brand.
In this case, the National Rugby League used Las Vegas to get the word out about its product — and to leverage broadcast deals for its 24 games over a 27-week period.
LVSportsBiz.com talked with Jason King, the National Rugby League’s executive general manager who oversees legal issues, integrity and compliance for a league that has 17 men’s teams and is increasing from ten to 12 women’s teams.
The Rugby League Las Vegas event is now in its second year.
The league forged the relationship with Las Vegas because “Las Vegas is really supportive of professional sports,” said King, a former professional rugby player.
King and others estimated that more than half of the 45,000 fans were out-of-towners, including many from Australia.
To cram the rugby field into Allegiant Stadium, the playing surface was smaller than the normal rugby playing surface. The length of the 100-meter rugby field was shrunk to 94.5 meters, while the width was decreased from 68 meters to 63.1 meters.
Allegiant Stadium did not have enough room to accommodate a FIFA soccer field, which is why the stadium and Las Vegas are not hosting any 2026 World Cup matches.
