Andrew Abdo, perhaps the result of getting caught up in the moment, got a little too close when ground staff at Allegiant Stadium were marking the field.
“It was quite a poignant moment seeing the NRL paint over the Super Bowl paint,” the NRL chief executive said. “It was like the NRL taking over the NFL.
“It was amusing until I got too close and got paint all over my suit before a television interview. That was fun.”
The NRL is literally encroaching onto the NFL’s turf at Allegiant Stadium. On Thursday [Friday, AEST], a sliding tray holding an entire football field – all 8,618,255 kilograms of it – was slotted into the stadium proper. That’s almost the same weight as the entire Eiffel Tower, which is why it took 72 motors to shift it into place. The goal posts, constructed locally, have been installed.
This is a venue with all the mod cons you would expect from the second most expensive stadium ever built (So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles tops the list). It is fully enclosed with a translucent roof, which allows the sun to kiss a field made of real grass. You can even witness spectacular views of the Las Vegas strip from inside.
The entire environment is climate-controlled, ensuring spectators are comfortable even when the Nevada sun is at its hottest. There are 2300-plus TV screens in the venue, making it impossible to miss the action.
The pitch is slotted into position at Allegiant Stadium.Credit: NRL Photos
The Wynn Field Club, set up in the style of a nightclub, will be reserved for dignitaries on game night. A booth holding about a dozen people goes for a seven-figure sum on Super Bowl night. On that occasion, the starting price for a bottle of Veuve Clicquot was $US795 ($1152). If you were after a three-litre bottle of Ace of Spades Rose, you’d get no change from $US30,000.
However, rugby league fans, rusted on or new, can experience the venue on Saturday [local time] without the hip pocket pain. The starting price for tickets is just $US19.
“This stadium is all about fan experience,” Abdo said. “A few things stand out with the facilities for fans: the dining areas, the size of the screens, the comfort of the seats, the sound, the audio-visual.
“There’s not a bad seat in the house. For a 65,000-seat stadium, it really feels like you are close to the action. For me it’s the scale and the size of the facilities that give it an all-around fan experience. The access to food and beverage and toilets, it really is world class.”
The big question remains: how many fans will Allegiant Stadium, known as the “Death Star”, hold when rugby league comes to town? With still two days to go, the NRL has hit the 40,000 sales mark.
“We are playing at Allegiant Stadium, where the Super Bowl was and so many great players have played, it’s pretty cool,” said Roosters captain James Tedesco.
“Once the whistle goes, it’s another game of football, but it will be pretty cool after the game once it sets in, hopefully after a win.”
Rabbitohs star Damien Cook added: “We saw Allegiant Stadium in the plane on the way in. It’s pretty special. The nerves haven’t kicked in yet, but we’re pretty excited.”
The local hype went to another level at the NRL launch at the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas. Thousands of fans packed the precinct at one of the best events ever staged by the governing body.
Adrian Proszenko’s trip to Las Vegas was funded by the NRL.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now