The NRL has confirmed two games will be played in Las Vegas to launch the 2024 season, with Manly, Brisbane, South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters locked in to feature.
The matches will be the first for premiership points to be contested outside Oceania and were confirmed on Friday afternoon after months of build-up.
Clubs were invited to submit expressions of interest to be involved in the fixtures, with the successful applicants notified on Friday.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys travelled to America in May to investigate the feasibility of the fixtures.
It has taken an additional three months to plan the games, with the league currently liaising with the four clubs over logistics.
The NRL is expected to announce the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium – home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders – as the location of the matches, which will be played in the first week of March.
The fixtures offer an opportunity for Australian rugby league to break into the lucrative American sports gambling market, and to convert fans of the similarly gladiatorial NFL.
“The 2024 Las Vegas matches will form part of an exciting ‘Australia Week’ in Las Vegas where we will be showcasing rugby league and Australia to the US market,” Abdo said.
“We are now working collaboratively with the four clubs to finalise arrangements for the proposed matches in Las Vegas and make this a blockbuster event for fans by maximising travel, attendance and enjoyment of a unique rugby league experience.
“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.”
South Sydney and Manly had been linked with the NRL’s plans to parachute into the American market to begin the 2023 season before plans were scrapped over logistical difficulties.
The clubs remained at the forefront of Las Vegas discussions, with the NRL hoping to use the high profiles of Souths co-owner Russell Crowe and celebrity Manly fan Hugh Jackman to sell the game to Americans.
Reports linked the Broncos with the Vegas fixtures earlier this month, while Canberra and Melbourne were among other sides considered but ultimately overlooked.
Aside from promoting the game internationally, the NRL anticipates significant interest from existing fans in attending the fixtures.
“It will be an exciting adventure for not only our players and staff to be a part of this historic event, but it will also give our members and supporters the opportunity to travel the world to watch their team play in the United States,” Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly said.
“We’re confident that we can develop a strong fan and member base off the back of this Las Vegas event in February and March next year and we look forward to growing our club and the sport internationally.”
