The Las Vegas Thread

[Perth Red]

What about the Jillaroos v the Super League champions? Almost an even contest, especially as the women will be in their off season so short of a gallop.

Might have more chance of winning it than the panthers lol

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Might have more chance of winning it than the panthers lol

Anyone who thinks the super league champions are better than the NRL champions needs to seek medical help.

 

[The Great Dane]

SL winning it 2 years in row should give it the boost in interest as a legit contest it needs. Missing this year is a faux pas at a time that they could have kept building it.

Outside of the hardest of hardcore RL communities, the WCC has been out of sight, out of mind in AU/NZ for almost 30 years, and it's not considered a serious contest by most of the people who are aware of existence (and for very good reason mind you, but that's it's own discussion).

The sad reality is that the average RL fan, let alone average punter, has little to no awareness of the WCC's existence anymore, and unless steps are taken to change that there's very little value in continuing with it.

Put simply, it needs to be taken out of the hands of the (mainly English) clubs, who've run it into the ground by abusing the concept for quick paydays and empty bragging rights, and handed to people with the means, and the will, to turn into a major event in it's own right.

Undoing 25+ years of it being mismanaged is a big task, and it needs to be handled with a little care. It needs to be planned well in advance and played in major stadiums, in front of big crowds, and sold to host cities as the main event of it's own show, not tacked onto another event as an afterthought.

 

[The Great Dane]

Anyone who thinks the super league champions are better than the NRL champions needs to seek medical help.

Especially considering that the premiership teams aren't actually playing and it's generally the NRL side's first run out for the season (i.e. literally a trial).

Add on top of that some of the horror stories about facilities, accommodation, and transport that English clubs have organised in the past, and it's no surprise that many of the NRL clubs are reluctant to travel. Though that's not as much of a thing these days TBF.

 

[The Great Dane]

Surely it is clear to all that It is simply about launching the NRL season with as much fanfare and publicity and positivity as possible. So far, it has done a brilliant job. I think it works even with 45k in Vegas but I am not sure if that is sustainable once every team and their supporters have been.

New York and London would work from a crowd point of view, but the time difference means those cities don’t work at all.

Japan? https://www.stadium2002.com/en/
Hawaii is building a new 30k stadium.

PVL has three years to think of something else.

New York would be commercial suicide. All the NRL's costs would be at least doubled or tripled, and there isn't really a suitable venue.

Sports Illustrated Stadium and Etihad Park (once it's finished) are too small.

Maybe you could squeeze a RL pitch into Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, but it'd be awkward and expensive. The spectator experience probably wouldn't be great either.

MetLife in NJ is way too big. It'd look deserted unless you can crack an attendance of at least 55-60k.

Hotspur stadium in London could be a fair shout though, especially if you market it to the pommy fans well.