One-on-one with Andrew Abdo: four months away from the NRL’s Vegas dream – three years in the making

In a wide-ranging interview, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo opens up on the league’s plans for expansion, the threat of rugby union and the Vegas dream that has been three years in the making.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has revealed that the plan to invade America was three years in the making as ticket sales for the double header in Las Vegas tick past the 12,000-mark and the game unashamedly chases the same exposure as global events such as the Super Bowl and Formula One.

The Vegas dream is still more than four months away but head office has sold a steady stream of tickets, the vast majority from Australians keen to head to Sin City for a sporting week that is designed to put rugby league on the map in America.

In a wide-ranging interview with this masthead, Abdo revealed the seed for Vegas was first planted three years ago, said he was no concerns about the threat of rugby union, confirmed expansion remained on the table heading into the off-season and insisted he was committed to his job for as long as he was wanted.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo with Peter V’landys at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Credit: Supplied.

Abdo’s crowning glory during his time in charge has been the code’s emergence from Covid in a strong financial position but Vegas may well give that a run for its money if he can pull it off given the potential it has to open a new financial market for the code.

There are some within the game who view Vegas through a prism of doubt, believing that it is a waste of time and money to pursue the American dream when there are more pressing issues on the home front.

However, Abdo is confident it will be a success and revealed it had been years in the making, the brainchild of ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys.

“This goes back a couple of years – it wasn’t a thought bubble last season,” Abdo said.

“Since Pete became chairman, all the way through my appointment as interim CEO, from 2020 we were having discussions around the US,

“We knew we would get through Covid but we want to come out leaner, more organised and hungry for growth.

“We were talking about it pretty consistently through 2020, 20221 and 2022. About a year ago, we put the blueprint down, looked at some feasibility.

“We started to do the detailed work on markets, cities, stadiums, timing. There are two things I am excited about. Even though everyone jokes about Las Vegas being the ultimate destination for a weekend – the truth is Las Vegas is becoming the sports entertainment capital of America.

“They have the Super Bowl there, they have an NFL franchise, they are going to get a MLB [Major League Baseball] franchise soon.

“They have formula one, they have NASCAR. They are the centrepiece of showcasing the best sports in the world. Unashamedly we want the NRL and NRL premiership games to be showcased on that platform.

Las Vegas is home to the Las Vegas Raiders NFL franchise. Picture: Chris Unger/Getty Images

“Two, the time of the year, this gives us football in America and Australia on a weekend where there is traditionally no other football.

“Instead of having a weekend off you have four weeks straight of football – two weeks of pre-season, effectively round zero and then round one.

“How exciting is that?”

NRL fans are buying in. Ticket sales have been steady and strong, remarkable when you consider the NRL has been focused on the finals series and yet to ramp up promotion of the event.

“We’re looking at ways in which we can expand and grow,” Abdo said.

“We are very excited about growth in our own neighbourhood. But we are also now thinking about the largest developed sports market in the world where we believe a great product and a great sport like rugby league can be showcased to a country that is obviously sports mad and is engaged and interested in a variety of sports.

“If you look at the size of the population in America, you look at the size of the population particularly on the west coast, and you look at the number of expatriates, you do the numbers and you do the maths,

“If we are able to penetrate a small portion of that population on a long-term basis, that sets us up for a significant presence that can then be monetised and make the game more successful and sustainable, and give it even more relevance globally.

“The matches in Vegas are just part of the puzzle.”

The plan to invade America has only been possible because the game is flying on home soil. While rugby union is battling, rugby league will nudge $700 million in revenue this year with a surplus of up to $50 million.

Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan has spoken about pillaging players from the NRL. Picture: Adam Yip

Asked whether he felt any threat from rugby union, whose bullish chair Hamish McLennan has spoken about pillaging players from the NRL, Abdo said: “No. Let me caveat that. I am not saying no in an arrogant way.

“I am not saying no in a dismissive way. I am saying no because I believe we have an unbelievable couple of years coming up where we are going to see superstars coming out of rugby league like we have never seen before.

“I am excited about what the future holds for us. My focus is on the NRL, my focus is in rugby league. I love and breathe it.

“It absorbs every waking minute of my life in a good way. We might lose players to other sports, we might gain players from other sports, but one thing is for sure we will continue to develop talent if we have our structures right, if we have our investment in participation right …. and if we have our clubs firing.

“It doesn’t concern me if players choose to play for another code – that is their right. What concerns me is we have the fundamentals in place to keep developing talent, the stars of the future.

“I am confident we do.”

It’s that belief that has the ARL Commission and NRL weighing up the merits of expansion to 18 or possibly 19 teams in the coming years before potentially hitting 20 at some point down the track.

Abdo has been inundated with interest from potential consortiums. Papua New Guinea has been pushing hard. So too Perth. Brisbane Easts are working the phones. Pacifika is of interest. When the time comes, there will be no shortage of interested parties.

Papua New Guinea NRL expansion bid team from left Sandis Tsaka chairman of the PNG RFL, Stanley Hondina CEO of PNG RFL and Andrew Hill PNG NRL bid officer. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Abdo won’t put a specific timeline on expansion but the day is fast arriving when the ARL Commission sits down to decide where and when to introduce additional teams.

“You have to take a long-term view,” Abdo said.

“It is very much the agenda, it is very much something we talk about all the time. Peter V’landys, our chairman, is very passionate about this as is the commission.

“You don’t get on a whiteboard and write this is the perfect timeline. We’re in a phase of the game which is exciting. We think about it all the time. It is part of everything we do.

“We are in a phase now where there is an opportunity in the market to continue to grow our game. That growth is going to come from a number of ways.

“We need to keep developing talent, we need to keep on thinking where we place our teams. In terms of when and where, that is a work in progress.”

Originally published as One-on-one with Andrew Abdo: four months away from the NRL’s Vegas dream – three years in the making