Peter V’landys dispels Las Vegas money pit myth, declares 2025 trip is trending towards profit
Peter V’landys has slammed speculation the Las Vegas venture is a financial disaster, revealing the NRL’s American dream could turn a profit as early as this year.
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ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has slammed speculation the Las Vegas venture is a financial disaster, revealing the NRL’s American dream could turn a profit as early as this year.
As V’landys prepares to head to the US on Tuesday, the ARLC chair has hit back at critics that allege the code’s bold Las Vegas experiment is a crippling financial noose around the NRL’s neck.
The NRL released its 2024 financial report on Friday and while the code trumpeted record revenue of $744 million and a $62m surplus, League Central refuses to disclose the precise cost of their Vegas project.
High-powered figures in the code have privately claimed last year’s historic maiden trip to Sin City - involving the Broncos, Souths, Manly and the Roosters - cost more than $30 million.
V’landys would not comment on precise figures, but came out swinging at suggestions Vegas is an NRL money pit, declaring the second edition of the season opener at Allegiant Stadium could end up in the black.
“Let me dispel something that is out there in the marketplace that is very incorrect and that is that Vegas has cost us a lot of money,” V’landys said.
“What Vegas has cost us is less than what it cost us to launch a season (in previous years).
“Last year it (the inaugural event in Vegas) gave us momentum and it continued on for the whole year with attendances and record viewership.
“It all came via Vegas.
“This year there is a possibility that we will turn a profit on the Vegas venture and if not, it will be a small loss.
“In previous years, we have spent a lot of money launching the season with limited success.”
The ARL Commission has signed a five-year deal with the Nevada government and V’landys is committed to monetising the NRL’s presence in Vegas before the contract expires in 2028.
Last year’s maiden voyage was, statistically at least, a resounding success. The Broncos-Roosters and Souths-Manly double header had a combined TV audience of 4.11 million, a figure usually reserved for State of Origin, with Fox Sports posting record round-one figures.
More than 14,000 Australians made the trek to America’s gaming capital, while fans from a staggering 24 countries were among the 40,746 that flocked to the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium.
NRL ticketing records showed fans bought seats from the US, Canada and Mexico in North America, as well as Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda in the Caribbean.
Other nations represented included Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Luxembourg and war-torn Afghanistan.
This season, fans will get twice the value with a quadruple header in Vegas on Sunday week. Canberra face the Warriors, Penrith play the Sharks, Wigan take on Warrington and Australia’s Jillaroos clash with England in a women’s Test match.
The NRL believes a crowd in excess of 50,000 is achieveable and V’landys is adamant Vegas 2.0 can capitalise on the 2024 gamble.
“There was a lot of success in Vegas last year that we didn’t even plan,” he said.
“For me, it was record viewership in Australia. Not only record viewership, but record attendances in pubs and clubs on that Sunday.
“It has become a day of celebration for the opening of the NRL season.
“The more we celebrate the opening of the NRL season, the better the Vegas venture is.”
The knock on Vegas is that it’s not fiscally attractive enough for NRL clubs. Several teams, including the Cowboys, withdrew interest for this year’s event, claiming poor compensation from the NRL for travelling as the ‘away’ club.
But NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo says the value of Vegas should also be measured by the financial benefits it has delivered the sport in other areas.
“This Vegas venture, outside of the benefit we get here domestically, we now have sponsors in America,” Abdo said.
“We would not have had those sponsors had we not been growing in America.
“We have people travelling to Vegas. We have travel experiences for fans and subscriptions (from offshore fans watching the NRL), so we have real revenue coming in which allows us to now invest in expansion and a better product here domestically.
“We were lucky the Commission had the bold vision and they backed it over five years.
“We’re in year two and it’s been really good for us so far.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters warned of the pitfalls of Vegas. Brisbane lost their Vegas clash to the Roosters 20-10, a defeat marred by the Ezra Mam-Spencer Leniu racism scandal, and the Broncos never recovered, crashing to 12th.
Walters praised the NRL for their marketing and promotional genius but admits the trip took a toll on the Broncos.
“I’m so pleased I’m not going to Vegas this year,” Walters said in his Inside Ball podcast with co-host Ben Dobbin.
“I had my concerns from day one, it was a great experience, I appreciate that.
“There were distractions everywhere.
“I met Lachlan Murdoch (News Corp chairman and passionate Broncos fan), he came down to the dressing room and he was so proud of his team.
“He has every right to take his team to America, we would play in the middle of the desert for him.
“The way the NRL did it was magnificent from a spectacle point of view, but it created distractions.
“I won’t call them headaches, I will say there were distractions. It wasn’t just the Broncos, it was the same for the other teams.
“In Vegas, it’s like Magic Round on steroids, there were so many fans.
“It will be even crazier this year with the English teams there.”
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