Whats next for the Hawks?

[Rugbyflorida]

anyone have any idea whats next for the hawks?
expected friendlys with Canada, Jamaica, or any other nation?

Just curious what they will be doing to prepare for the WC..

 

[Evil Homer]

I'm hearing that the England Community Lions are looking to tour the USA and play an emerging Hawks team but are having trouble getting hold of anyone from the USARL?

 

[Hound of Ulster]

I'm so annoyed I didn't figure out there was a USMRLT name contest until it was too late. Hawks is so dull; I was hoping for something that drew on our history a bit more.

ObTopic: Are there enough non-US players in USARL to have a Hawks v. Dirty, Dirty Foreigners series? On Championship week-end, it would be cool to have two matches, the championship (obviously) and Hawks v. Foreigners, obviously excluding the players in the championship.

 

[nzwarriorskuz]

really like to see the Ireland A team play the USA again or even tour the USA a match against the Fight and Boston and then the Hawks in Florida..

 

[latingringo101]

It'd be great if they played against Mexico. They've got a 4 team competition there and could be fantastic to see a USA v Mexico match!

 

[deluded pom?]

The Mexicans would win the wrestling in the tackle.

 

[Choo Choo]

We are looking at fixtures with Canada and Jamaica and possibly a few more. The board is still negotiating for potential matches. Announcements should be forth coming.

 

[deal.with.it]

Is it worrying at all that after 6 years and now a WC qualfied national team, sponsors are still hard to come by?
Most teams have a major sponsor, but the league has no title sponsor or portfolio of sponsors.
Has the usarl board looked at getting an external company to do this?
I notice matthew bailey at the kings has some experience in the field.
Thanks for any info danny and co

 

[East Coast Tiger]

The worst thing about the league is still the fact they don't play anywhere near a full season. Some clubs play six games. That's not a season. Until clubs are playing a minimum of 12 regular season games it's little more than union training. That has to be the main priority over the next few years. The top division needs to be a proper season with genuine second tiers playing regularly too, even if those leagues are less than 12 weeks.

 

[deluded pom?]

I agree ECT, sooner or later the USARL have to lengthen their season meaning it will crossover into the US union season. They can't keep pussyfooting around, frightened that players will choose union over league.

 

[emesssea]

I agree ECT, sooner or later the USARL have to lengthen their season meaning it will crossover into the US union season. They can't keep pussyfooting around, frightened that players will choose union over league.

I don't think thats the case at all. In the end it all comes down to money, having a successful league in a sport 99% of Americans don't know exist with clubs from Boston to Tampa is a daunting task. If the USARL could have 16 teams playing 24 regular season games on field geared for rugby (talking about the football goalpost), they would. They have the league that the their finances wil let them have, and hopefully over time those finances will increase in order to expand the season and teams.

 

[deal.with.it]

Agree with all.
So if they need money, where are the sponsors?

For example, there's been a new kiteboarding league launched here in aus. Kiteboarding isn't a recognised sport. But they managed to get a hotel chain on board as title sponsor - due to the chain needing to spend x amount annually on promoting active living through their corporate social responsibility requirements.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

I understand it's a bit of a catch 22 but wouldn't sponsors and other revenues be more likely if clubs were playing more than four (in some cases three) home games? At present they're paying for insurance, jerseys and other gear to play a small number of games. Yes other costs like travel, medical gear and possibly ground hire would rise with more games but it seems almost a waste to be paying for stuff like uniforms for as few as six games a year.

 

[Boston13s]

As well as playing numbers, another of the big problems with extending the season would be finding fields to play on. Any teams that play at a college or high school (Who own the majority of decent facilities) would probably need to find a new field and finding suitable fields is very tough when you are the new kids on the block. In the fall you'd be competing with football, soccer and rugby union. In the spring you'd be competing with soccer, lacrosse and rugby union.

The teams that would currently be affected by this are: Boston, Rhode Island, White Plains, DC, Jacksonville & Tampa.

 

[Sinman]

The International Rugby League in their planning doc said they want to strengthen a G20 country and develop another professional league.. If I remember correctly.. USA or Canada or both seems like a good place to put their investment.. Rugby League needs a 3rd professional competition and USA/Canada I think would be a good option.. But they would have to be willing to put proper money into it long term until it became profitable.. But this is 2018 and beyond!!

 

[Hound of Ulster]

As well as playing numbers, another of the big problems with extending the season would be finding fields to play on. Any teams that play at a college or high school (Who own the majority of decent facilities) would probably need to find a new field and finding suitable fields is very tough when you are the new kids on the block. In the fall you'd be competing with football, soccer and rugby union. In the spring you'd be competing with soccer, lacrosse and rugby union.

Most high school and college sports wrap up in the first or second week of May. The USARL season doesn't start until June. It's not much, but the season could extend back two more weeks without running into too much trouble. Perhaps with creative scheduling, you could go back one more week. One round of playoffs (the North Conference wildcard) could be eliminated for another round of the regular season. However, this still only gets to 12 games, which is somewhat short for a full season.

 

[spinnerhowland]

Question for those oeverseas (not USA guys who know) - how much do you think a field cost to rent in the USA for an afternoon of playing RL? Lets assume you want to field with basic seating, at least toilets for the fans, and at least one locker room with showers for post game. Just wondering what some of you think a fair price is, with the knowledge that most teams get less than 200 fans in the gate, and still need to cover insurance, travel, uniforms, equipment, some marketing, etc.

 

[deal.with.it]

Hence why I asked about sponsors.

More sponsors, more money, more games, more attendees.

 

[spinnerhowland]

Its a catch 22. Limited fields plus limited times of the year they are available. Sponsors want ROI or value for sponsorship. It is a balance of finding a field that will attract enough fans (amenities as well as perception of the quality of the event), to make it viable for sponsors to spend on the "brand" of the sport or team. But without fans and sponsor the cost of some venues are beyond the budgets of most teams. So what comes first?

As with all sports, TV is the big carrot that needs to be found somehow.

 

[deal.with.it]

But there's no league sponsors at all.
There is a product there and ROI for sponsors to the tune of maybe $10k.
That would help subsidise field costs. Extend the season and extend the sponsor figures.
But the current level is $0.
When you have a 3 month season and a national team, surely there is a company that would see current value before extending the season.