Australian rugby league to open season at Allegiant Stadium

The ball will look a bit different Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.

Australia’s National Rugby League will play its first games in the U.S. at the Raiders’ stadium, opening its regular season with a doubleheader that will be televised on Fox Sports 1. The matches feature the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters against the Brisbane Broncos.

The matches begin a five-year agreement for the NRL to host games at Allegiant Stadium. Dubbed Rugby League Las Vegas, there will be 10 matches hosted in Las Vegas over the length of the contract.

Native Australians will mark their presence Saturday with an estimated 14,000 Aussies making the trip to Las Vegas for the matches, according to the NRL.

The festivities began Thursday with a fan fest at Fremont Street Experience.

“The Las Vegas games have presented us with a great opportunity to launch the season with simultaneous events in Australia and the United States,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said in a statement. “We will have thousands of fans traveling to Las Vegas and we will have millions of fans in Australia equally keen to see the season opening.”

The league features notable figures who have ownership stakes in NRL teams, including actors Hugh Jackman (Sea Eagles) and Russell Crowe (Rabbitohs).

The NRL, the top sports league in Australia, features two 40-minute halves with minimal stoppages. Players play on offense and defense, with each team consisting of 17 players, 13 who are on the field, and four substitutes. Players do not wear helmet or pads, and there are no timeouts.

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster starting at $19.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.