Rugby League Las Vegas: The Story So Far

On August 11, 2023 the NRL announced that the Sea Eagles, Rabbitohs, Broncos and Roosters would be the four teams to blaze a trail in Las Vegas by opening the 2024 season at Allegiant Stadium.

An historic day for the game with the bold step being taken to play premiership matches in the USA as part of an ambitious plan to grow rugby league's footprint.

“Rugby league will be on a stage which the sport has simply never been on before and we look forward to giving all clubs the opportunity in coming years," said NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.

After months of meticulous planning by the NRL and the four clubs, the big moment arrived on March 2, 2024 when Souths and Manly took to the field at the state-of-the-art Allegiant Stadium, which only three weeks earlier had played host to Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.

Now it was rugby league's turn to command the stage and the Bunnies and Sea Eagles turned on an 11-try feast for the crowd of just under 40,000 before Roosters centre Joey Manu stole the show in the second game with a magical try assist for Junior Pauga to score.

The exhilarating action on the field put an exclamation mark on a week in which rugby league had taken over the famous Fremont St precinct for Fan Fest and left an indelible mark on the entertainment capital of the world.

A Vegas 9s competition for men and women attracted 30 teams and 450 players, with a preceding referees courses attended by 42 participants. 

The NRL Vegas Combine, involving 25 male and 25 female athletes from across multiple sporting backgrounds, saw two players from each group earn the opportunity to train with an elite team in Australia. 

“The amount of travelling fans made the experience very special and the Clubs and players put on some great football," said Abdo.

This is only year one of our US strategy. We are committed to building a sustainable presence in a competitive but large US market over time.

“Next year’s Las Vegas Round will be even bolder and bigger and the interest for 2025 has already been quite remarkable.”

Fast forward to March 1, 2025 and the promise to be 'bigger, bolder, better' was well and truly delivered when two NRL matches, a women's Test match and a Super League game between Wigan and Warrington were played at Allegiant Stadium.

Flying the NRL flag were the Sharks, Panthers, Warriors and Raiders, while the Australian Jillaroos showcased their skill and flair in a win over England.

More than three million viewers in the United States, Australia and New Zealand tuned into the opening two matches of the NRL season at Allegiant Stadium, as new broadcast records were set across the game.

In further proof that rugby league’s globalisation strategy is already paying off after just the second year of the NRL’s Vegas venture, viewership in the US increased by more than 600 per cent on the 2024 season opener. 

Exposure on the FOX network drove unprecedented viewership in the US, with the Raiders v Warriors fixture attracting 371,000 viewers on the Fox network. This is 6.1 x bigger than the previous highest (Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs) last year on FS1 (+508%).

In Australia, coverage of the quadruple header propelled FOX League to its most streamed day of all-time, with 144 million minutes of action at Allegiant Stadium streamed.

“Played in front of the biggest crowd for a season opener in 15 years (45,209), the huge increase in US TV audience provides us further momentum in showcasing rugby league to Americans," said Abdo.

"The challenge for us is to keep the momentum going by educating, engaging and converting US fans throughout the 2025 season ahead of an even bigger 2026 Las Vegas event.”

And with that, the baton is passed to the Bulldogs, Dragons, Knights and Cowboys to showcase our great game at Rugby League Las Vegas 2026.

• Tickets are now on sale for the third edition of Rugby League’s global showcase event in Las Vegas, to be held on February 28 at Allegiant Stadium.
• Tickets start at just $45 AUD ($29 US) to experience the event that is on every fan’s bucket-list, this year featuring the Bulldogs against the Dragons and the Knights against the Cowboys, as well as a Super League clash between Hull KR and Leeds.
• For ticketing and travel packages visit NRL.com/Vegas