The Las Vegas Thread

[newc18]

I noticed PVL has said on the Hello Sport podcast that the whole purpose of Vegas is to increase Watch NRL subscriptions. He went on to say that it's gone up 80% since the NRL have started playing games at Vegas. This seems like a pretty good success?

 

[Trifili13]

I noticed PVL has said on the Hello Sport podcast that the whole purpose of Vegas is to increase Watch NRL subscriptions. He went on to say that it's gone up 80% since the NRL have started playing games at Vegas. This seems like a pretty good success?

80% increase is great, but what was the starting point and what has it grown to is more important. Is it a meaningful amount or is the NRL wasting its time trying to convert Americans to league?

Also, wasn't PVL spruiking about getting 1%(?) of gambling dollars from America? Does anyone know how successful that has been?

 

[newc18]

80% increase is great, but what was the starting point and what has it grown to is more important. Is it a meaningful amount or is the NRL wasting its time trying to convert Americans to league?

It's a good question and I'm curious what the answer could be. He did seem pretty happy with it so perhaps the number is bigger than the NRL thought it would be?

Also, wasn't PVL spruiking about getting 1%(?) of gambling dollars from America? Does anyone know how successful that has been?

As far as I'm aware, it was something he was exploring. I don't think it was the main objective though.

 

[Perth Red]

It's a good question and I'm curious what the answer could be. He did seem pretty happy with it so perhaps the number is bigger than the NRL thought it would be?

As far as I'm aware, it was something he was exploring. I don't think it was the main objective though.

player recruitment
gambling revenue
Tv deal
streaming sales
interest in season start

been plenty banded about the why. if it continues beyond the 5 years is the only indicator we will have of ot has actually met the nrls kpis i

 

[yakstorm]

They reported a small profit on the tournament last year, and considering they seem to be reducing the amount of above the line spending advertising it each year, I'd imagine they'd be on track for something similar this year even if the crowd is slightly less.

Ultimately if it's not bleeding money and it continues to generate conversation by the end of year 5, they'll keep it going in some capacity. That maybe an evolved concept where Vegas no longer hosts games, but instead X number of matches are sold to overseas tourism authorities, but unless things go horribly wrong in years 4 & 5, I don't see the NRL returning to all of Round 1 games being played in A/NZ.

In many ways the push to now consider Asia might be more profitable for the NRL anyway. There is already significant NRL betting market in SEA, many Asian countries already have broadcasters covering the sport, timezones are a lot more friendly for the Australian broadcasters and costs would be less.

 

[steeden.]

In many ways the push to now consider Asia might be more profitable for the NRL anyway. There is already significant NRL betting market in SEA, many Asian countries already have broadcasters covering the sport, timezones are a lot more friendly for the Australian broadcasters and costs would be less.

The NRL would be silly to not try to appeal to the Asian market based on the population in Australia and how under represented they are in NRL players

 

[Mother Nature's Son]

In many ways the push to now consider Asia might be more profitable for the NRL anyway. There is already significant NRL betting market in SEA, many Asian countries already have broadcasters covering the sport, timezones are a lot more friendly for the Australian broadcasters and costs would be less.

Good call mate, we`ve heard it a million times, Asia is our future, our demographics reveal that, Oz Gov`t may well want to chip in as well if it means closer ties.

 

[grozzy]

Trying to attract the Asian market may sound good, but it would be difficult to get right. The AFL's Chinese experiment was very forgettable, and I don't think there's any popular sports which are similar in skills to RL. My first thought is Japan might be a good destination.

 

[i0Nic]

Starting to see the vegas promotions ramp up on socials and I'd expect on the ground now as well in Vegas. Can anyone do some digging on the ticketek insights and see if were on track to hit 40k this year?

 

[Wb1234]

 

[Foreign Legion]

The AFL's Chinese experiment was very forgettable,

Forgettable are you kidding... How can you forget about the marque tent fiasco, empty stadiums, Koshy walking around the Shanghai Gee with a rod up his .....
Great memories we need another one maybe it's Indias turn.

 

[Barney Stubble]

The NRL would be silly to not try to appeal to the Asian market based on the population in Australia and how under represented they are in NRL players

Perth & Singapore is a match made in Heaven

 

[Gobsmacked]

Forgettable are you kidding... How can you forget about the marque tent fiasco, empty stadiums, Koshy walking around the Shanghai Gee with a rod up his .....
Great memories we need another one maybe it's Indias turn.

Where better to test the Indian market then Melbourne?

 

[Wb1234]

 

[Dogs Of War]

Forgettable are you kidding... How can you forget about the marque tent fiasco, empty stadiums, Koshy walking around the Shanghai Gee with a rod up his .....
Great memories we need another one maybe it's Indias turn.

Geez even NZ which is close by don't want to watch it. They had a go with games which just got lower and lower crowds which I'm sure there were free tickets galore given out and even then they couldn't secure a crowd.

 

[Captain Apollo]

Geez even NZ which is close by don't want to watch it. They had a go with games which just got lower and lower crowds which I'm sure there were free tickets galore given out and even then they couldn't secure a crowd.

It says something about the style and good taste of Kiwis then in my opinion

 

[Gobsmacked]

When you think about it, the AFL is at a massive disadvantage because of the stupid jerseys they wear,you're not wearing that anywhere other than directly to a game. Meanwhile the NRL have free advertising walking around the world.

 

[Trifili13]

When you think about it, the AFL is at a massive disadvantage because of the stupid jerseys they wear,you're not wearing that anywhere other than directly to a game. Meanwhile the NRL have free advertising walking around the world.

Except barely anyone in the world apart from a handful of countries knows what game those jerseys belong to or who half the sponsors are.

 

[nko11]

Re: Global Round

Vegas works well out of Allegiant because we can rely on 20k+ of Aussies/Kiwis/UK heading over. Future international games need to be able to attract a good amount of locals to make it work. Spreading the fans willing to travel overseas for games too thin, may have a negative effect, even on the semi-established Vegas game.

I acutally really like the idea of the UK and France having games. I think you would get a decent roll up of locals and Expats, where you could feasibly get 30k in France & 50k in UK. I think venue choice would be super important here. I've heard suggestions of Wembley, but I feel like this wouldn't work - you'd be risking too many empty seats there.

If it had to be London, I would be looking at something like Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (62,850), or if outside of London, head back to Hill Dickinson Stadium (52,769). But hey, if Vlandy's is confident of getting 80k+ - Wembley would be great.

For France - If you really wanted to go all out, maybe Parc Des Princes (47,929) in Paris and have Toulouse and Catalans playing in games there too. Otherwise I would be looking at Stadium de Toulouse (33,150).

The other places I've read about like Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo & Abu Dhabi. I think these are ultra risky and I don't really see the play with these. If we go with this, every team would then be playing overseas once every 2 years, which I think would be too much for alot of fans and there would be so many games overseas, that you would see the neutral fans being split between all the venues.

For these non-traditional areas - I could see Vegas dropping to 10k fans heading over and the rest getting 5k heading over. You've then got to rely on locals and expats filling the rest out. So you'd be looking at 10k-15k stadiums in Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and/or Abu Dhabi. At that point, is there really much value to be gained?

I'll hold off on full judgement, until we see some firm details and even moreso wait for the first year of it, if it goes ahead. Hopefully Vlandys is working some magic behind the scenes to get great funding and has plan to be able to get 25k+ to all these locations.

Possble Stadiums for all of the above places:
Dubai - The Sevens Stadium (44,000), Al Maktoum Stadium (12,000) -Really just a choice between these two stadiums.
Abu Dhabi - Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium (36,186), Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium (25,053) - Everything below this capacity likely unable to host due to quality or shape of pitch.
Hong Kong - Kai Tak Stadium (50,000), Hong Kong Stadium (40,000) - Probably literally the only 2 stadiums capable of hosting.
Tokyo - Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium (27,188), Ajinomoto Stadium (48,013)

Underlined stadiums denote stadiums already used for the Rugby 7's tournaments (which I imagine would be the more likely stadiums to be used). It's really if we think we can feasibly fill up 75%+ of these grounds. If we only get 10k in a 50k stadium in Hong Kong, for example - I don't see any point to it.

 

[Gobsmacked]

Except barely anyone in the world apart from a handful of countries knows what game those jerseys belong to or who half the sponsors are.

You must have a magic formula where you establish brand recognition without people first being exposed to a brand.

I suspect, on the weekend of Vegas, everyone in Vegas knows what the NRL is, having never attended a match or heard of the sport previously.