USA and Canada to host RLWC2025

[flamin]

Jason Moore's thoughts on starting a pro league are relevant here:

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/11/22/nrl-players-can-showcase-league-us

But Moore is hoping one day top NRL players will consider signing for a team in the US as an alternative to the English Super League.

"We've been working on this for over 10 years," Moore said.

"Not so much the World Cup but developing a rugby code in the US.

"Although rugby has made big strides over there, American viewers do not like sports where TV loses track of the ball.

"They love physical, gladiatorial sports that are played at a fast pace."

Moore admits selling the game to America will be tough, but said plans are already afoot for a 10-12-team competition made up of city franchises in the US and Canada and containing local players within the next five years.

"College kids are a massive market for teams, as are the high school kids that don't make it to college," he said.

"About 30,000 high school kids go for 11,000 college places, then about 160 will make it to the NFL.

"So there's a hell of a lot of 18-23 year olds with not much to do that have been trained like professional athletes to catch, pass run and tackle."

"It's a massive challenge, but we've a great way to engage with the fans through their love of contact sports.

"In America, you have to think big or you will get booed off the stage."
​

Interestingly this article from the NY times shows how Jason Moore was the catalyst for the guy who began the pro rugby union comp.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/magazine/one-mans-quest-to-get-americans-to-care-about-rugby.html
​

However it's clear from his comments that he believes rugby league is more suited to North America.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Great news. Just hope I'm still around to see it happen.

Onwards and upwards.

 

[adamkungl]

I wouldnt expect to hear anything concrete regarding new US plans til at least the lead-up to WC17.

We need to settle our hopes a bit, I don't think we can really expect 9 years of plans within 4 days of the announcement

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Neither do I. Nine weeks would be nice.

 

[PaulyTom]

What's the chance of a Super League or Nrl game to be scheduled in the states over the next 9 years?

In the lead up it would be nice to see some games or even a nines comp to be played over in Usa or Canada .

Hopefully in 9 years the Toronto Wolfpack willl be in the Super League. That will definitely help the profile of Canadian RL

 

[PacificCoastRL]

I'm very happy to hear the RLWC is coming to North America. I've been watching the NRL since the 1980's when it was on TSN for a few years, and have been watching nearly every game since 2007 via the internet. I also had some very early involvement with the birth of rugby league here in British Columbia, but couldn't stay involved because of work commitments and my location.
Anyway - some thoughts. I took a quick scan through the post and was quite surprised to see very little mention of Vancouver. Now, Vancouver is fairly close to where I live, so I may be somewhat prejudiced in wanting games there, but I do believe it would be deserving. Firstly - the BC comp is based in Vancouver and it has more RL teams within a short drive than any other city in North America. The city also has a history of embracing sports that would not be considered mainstream in North America. Vancouver was one of the first cities to boast high soccer attendances, dating back to the old NASL of the late-70's. I myself attended an AFL match between the Swans and Demons that still holds the record for largest crowd for an Aussie Rules game outside of Australia. There is my plug for Vancouver.
I think Vancouver and Toronto, and maybe Montreal would be good hosts for the WC in Canada. As for the US; New York should definitely host some games. Also Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. All of these cities have MLS stadiums which would be perfect in both capacity and field requirements. Somebody had mentioned NFL stadiums as a no-go. I would concur - in fact, I don't think most of the NFL stadiums could accommodate a rugby league pitch. I assume that all of the MLS stadiums could accommodate a pitch, but I'm not sure.
In closing - I look forward to seeing many of you here in North America in 2025. I'll be in Vancouver if they get some games. If not, I have relatives near Toronto, which I'm sure will get some games.
Now my only concern will be if I'm fit enough to attend. This is the first time in my life that my age has smacked me in the face. I'll be 70 when the tournament starts - hopefully I'll still be around.

 

[morningstar]

Great interview with Jason Moore...

http://www.sportinglife.com/rugby-l...-will-help-rugby-league-establish-roots-in-us

Rugby league has a chance to steal a march on rugby union in the race to plant a flag in the United States, according to the man given the task of taking the World Cup across the Atlantic.

Disappointed at losing out to England in his bid to secure the hosting rights for the 2021 World Cup, Australian sports promoter Jason Moore was quickly appeased by the Rugby League International Federation's decision to award the 2025 event to North America.

It will be the first time the World Cup is taken away from the game's heartlands since it was first held in 1954.

"I applaud the board and congress for seeing the vision and believing that now is the right time to get to the United States and Canada and in particular the United States," Moore told Press Association Sport.


"The timing doesn't really get too much better. The fact that we can beat rugby union there is of paramount importance.

"We would have been ready to do it in 2021, no question about it. We had everything lined up. We were gutted we didn't get 2021 because we know we were very, very close.

"Our concerns were around rugby union getting a jump on us."

Former England captain Nigel Melville is aiming to lure the rugby union World Cup to the States in 2027, by which time Moore hopes rugby league will have finally established roots after decades of half-hearted attempts to sell the game to a parochial American sports audience.

Despite coming from Sydney, Moore has no background in rugby league but says a "lightning bolt moment" convinced him that the American market was the right place for the 13-man code.

"It's quite funny because a lot of people, particularly in the northern hemisphere, think that I just woke up one day and thought I'd love to have a Rugby League World Cup," said Moore, president and chief executive of Moore Sports International.

"We've been working in the US sports landscape for nearly 13 years now. We've done a lot of work with major league baseball and we took the opening games of the 2014 season down to the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"Through the process of doing that and in parallel with a lot of work around the rugby league and the rugby union space, we were keeping things to ourselves pretty much until we had a lightning bolt moment around three years ago.

"Despite all of our research, we couldn't get past why rugby union really wasn't kicking on a lot more into mainstream America and it was a very Osimple realisation that the game is just too complex.

"We looked at that and spoke to a lot of people and started to show them rugby league footage, clips of State of Origin, NRL and Super League. The way we explained it to them was 'think NFL, think college football but have 13 players, no pads, no blocking, lateral passing and six downs and that's rugby league'.

"And they got it straight away."

Neither the USARL nor Canada Rugby League were directly involved with the World Cup bid, but Moore says both governing bodies will have a role to play in the lead-up to 2025.

"We're a major sporting event promotion company and we're bringing a high level of investment and professionalism to the way this will be operated and run," he said.

"At the moment, unfortunately, the USA Rugby League is an amateur organisation and those guys have done a fantastic job in getting to where they are but they are under-resourced, under-manned and under-funded.

"We're going to work with them to engage with their existing communities and their existing fan-base and playing groups because I think there's a lot they can bring to the table.

"I believe a strong and healthy amateur level of the game is of paramount importance to the growth, particularly when it comes to getting new athletes, whether they be 10 or 35 years of age."

Moore has already identified a host of potential venues, using a mixture of Major League Soccer and NFL grounds with capacities ranging from 18,000 to 80,000.

"We have a few ideas of how it will work out but I'm not going to share them at the moment because we want to run a tender process and get the best deal," he said.

"But fundamentally we are looking at almost running a line down the middle of the US, with the European-based countries more east-coast focused because of time zones and broadcasts, and the Pacific Islands and Australia and New Zealand central to the west coast, around California, Houston and Dallas and Denver, Salt Lake City and Vancouver."

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Sounds brilliant.

 

[BuderusIsaBeast]

Very exciting stuff and it's pleasing to know Moore has had success before with bringing and MLB game down here. If the World Cup is successfully or reaches even a small amount of the population it would be huge for rugby league

 

[RedVee]

I'll be 63... a trip to visit my Canadian cousins will be appropriate.

 

[Poul]

Cracking the North American market would be the ultimate for a Rugby League Internationalist.
I'm excited by this news
There are however, a few questions which will need to be answered.
At what time of the year will the tournament be played? Autumn/winter in the northern USA and Canada I understand can get subzero temperatures with snow in places like New York and Montreal.
Will MLS stadiums be available for use at that time of the year? I understand the MLS season goes from early March to early December. The NFL season, I understand goes from September to early February. Would there be other venues which could be used?
Jason Moore implies that the Australasia/Pacific teams would be West Coast and centrally based and the European and North American teams East Coast and centrally based. So this would imply that we wouldn't see Australia and New Zealand in the same pools as any of the European teams.
I hope they don't spread the tournament too thin. It would be good if the Moore Sports could set up a bidding process for cities host games, although I think they may already have a good idea about where they want games to be held.
I like the fact that Moore Sports have indicated that they want to work with the Canadian and USA Rugby Leagues to develop the game prior to the 2025 World Cup. Hopefully it will leave a lasting legacy for the game in North America.

 

[PacificCoastRL]

Poul - if the tournament gets started in late October or early November weather should not be a problem. Even now, in late November snow is not really an issue in the northern States or Canada. I can tell you right now in Vancouver the temperature is generally around 6 or 7 Celsius most days. The CFL's Grey Cup was hosted just a couple of days ago in Toronto under fairly mild conditions. The chance of cold and rain or snow is always a possibility at this time of year, but if the scheduling is done right it wouldn't be a concern. Just start the early games in the north and Canada and gradually move south as the tournament progresses.

 

[DC_fan]

I wonder what time of the year it will be played? Their is not a time during the year that at least one of Americas top three sports NFL, NBA or MLB is not being played. So the World Cup will be up against strong opposition regardless of when it's played.

I think we can rule out winter, December through February. Too cold and possible snow. My feeling is October and November.

 

[LESStar58]

I'll be pushing 46 by the time the tournament comes around. I'll see what happens. Best case scenario is the final being played at Soldier Field in Chicago and I'll just go to that!

 

[Perth Red]

I wonder what time of the year it will be played? Their is not a time during the year that at least one of Americas top three sports NFL, NBA or MLB is not being played. So the World Cup will be up against strong opposition regardless of when it's played.

I think we can rule out winter, December through February. Too cold and possible snow. My feeling is October and November.

Maybe they could get some of the NFL broadcasters onside and talking about the tournament during NFL shows? Seems the best hope for RL will be getting NRL fans who only have a handful of games a year to watch interested. Maybe the American/Canada RL seasons should piggy back the NFL and start March time?

I am so going to this tournament! Never been to Canada so I will save my first time to see the RLWC there!!

 

[DC_fan]

Maybe they could get some of the NFL broadcasters onside and talking about the tournament during NFL shows? Seems the best hope for RL will be getting NRL fans who only have a handful of games a year to watch interested. Maybe the American/Canada RL seasons should piggy back the NFL and start March time?

I am so going to this tournament! Never been to Canada so I will save my first time to see the RLWC there!!

I am not sure their is anything of value for NFL broadcasters in the RLWC for them to become involved in promoting it.

The problem for a March start for the local league is that it can still be very cold and snow at that time of the year. Also MLB starts around that date.

Their will never be a good time for the World Cup or the local leagues to be played.

 

[adamkungl]

Doubt the NFL is in the business of promoting other sports much, even if we are not even a minor threat

 

[PacificCoastRL]

What's the chance of a Super League or Nrl game to be scheduled in the states over the next 9 years?

In the lead up it would be nice to see some games or even a nines comp to be played over in Usa or Canada .

Hopefully in 9 years the Toronto Wolfpack willl be in the Super League. That will definitely help the profile of Canadian RL

Weren't Paramatta talking about playing a game in Seattle in January 2017? I'm assuming this has gone by the wayside as I've seen nothing recently.

Doubt the NFL is in the business of promoting other sports much, even if we are not even a minor threat

I think the NFL would be worried about supporting rugby league as it could capture some of their audience. Having said that, I think if NFL owners were to look at what Seattle Seahawks' owner Paul Allen has done with the MLS Seattle Sounders, there is a good argument. If rugby league were to be played from April to September in North America it would fill empty football stadiums.

 

[Sjrugby]

If anything it'll be good for the MLS owners to buy into a start up rugby league league. NFL owners where pursaded to buy into MLS to fill there stadiums in the off season, now you have MLS owners who have there own stadiums they need to fill.

 

[Sjrugby]

Where should matches be held, MLS stadiums or NFL stadiums, now days most NFL stadiums are being built to accommodate soccer fields so squeezing a rugby pitch in one won't be that hard of a task . Also what cities ?