NRL, Las Vegas-bound clubs clear the air at crucial meeting

The NRL and the clubs preparing to head to Las Vegas in six weeks have had a crucial meeting in an attempt to clear the air.

The NRL and the four clubs heading to Las Vegas met on Thursday to iron out concerns over the historic double-header in March.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is expecting to run into more headwinds leading into the historic double-header in Las Vegas.

But he’s avoided any turbulence back home following a successful meeting with the four clubs set to take part in the overseas extravaganza.

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Abdo and ARLC chairman Peter V’landys met with representatives from the Roosters, Broncos, Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles on Thursday after it emerged the clubs were worried about certain issues regarding the March double-header.

They were reportedly concerned over the lack of clarity around things like travel visas, training venues, funding and medical insurance six weeks out from the Vegas experiment.

But any lingering tension seems to have been resolved for now following a positive meeting in Sydney.

The NRL officially launched the double-header in Las Vegas last month. Picture: NRL Images.

“We always knew that there’d be challenges, but we were committed to working through them,” Abdo said.

“I was surprised by some of the level of reporting on it because they were matters that we knew about and that we’d been working really hard to manage. We had an opportunity to communicate that today.

“The spirit in which we’re all working together to make this successful was the most pleasing outcome.

“We worked through a range of functional, administrative and financial issues, and we managed to reach a resolution on all of those which was very pleasing.”

While ticket sales for the two games at Allegiant Stadium are slightly slower than expected, the speed in which the NRL and the clubs dealt with the concerns must be commended.

It’s been reported that both parties have agreed on financial assistance, insurance and training venues in Las Vegas which could have been a logistical nightmare if the concerns were allowed to fester.

The clubs will leave next month but there is one major issue that hasn’t been finalised, with the NRL making it a priority to speed up the visa application process to ensure players and staff can enter the USA without any security dramas.

Andrew Abdo (left) met with club officials to offer more financial assistance. Picture: Grant Trouville

“There is a clear process that’s been outlined and we’re going to assist the clubs with that administration and try to get it done as quickly as possible,” Abdo said.

“Each individual has to answer questions for the visa waiver with the ESTA (electronic system for travel authorisation) program, and some of those questions might make people ineligible to get a visa waived, in which case we need to then apply for a separate visa which requires an interview process.

“We’re just co-ordinating the administration and the process for doing that for those players that don’t qualify for a visa waiver.”

Of utmost importance is the players with criminal records who aren’t able to obtain an ESTA with Abdo stressing that the code is doing everything in its power to expedite the process to help them out.

“That’s not something in our control, but I’m confident that we can get all the paperwork and the process completed well in time to get the results,” he said.

“I’m quietly confident that we shouldn’t have any issues.”

More than 20,000 tickets have been sold so far, but the NRL is hoping that number increases significantly. Picture: David Becker/Getty Images

Thursday’s meeting was a positive step forward six weeks out from one of the NRL’s biggest gambles, but Abdo is optimistic that it will pay off with a full house of the game’s biggest stars set to promote the league in front of a major global market.

“I think everyone’s on the same page in terms of what we’re trying to achieve and there’s a very positive spirit about how we can tackle problems together,” he said.

“It’s not going to be plain sailing. If this was easy then everybody would be doing it. It’s a big challenge but it’s a great opportunity.

“I’m expecting more challenges, and I’m expecting headwinds, but I’m confident that we’ll be able to deal with it and get the benefits in the end.”

Originally published as NRL, Las Vegas-bound clubs clear the air at crucial meeting