Las Vegas Rugby

Why Las Vegas Is the Perfect Home for Pro Rugby in America

Nearly 55 million airline passengers a year, more than 150,000 hotel rooms, a decade of record-breaking sevens crowds and a city that has turned itself into a sports capital. Here is why American Pro Rugby chose Las Vegas as the home of the APR Games, and what that means for players and fans.

Las Vegas is the perfect home for pro rugby in America because it already does the three things a rugby tournament needs most: it gets people to town easily, it gives them somewhere good to stay, and it turns a game into an event. That is why American Pro Rugby built the APR Games 2027 here, over Memorial Day Weekend, May 29–31, 2027, with every game played under floodlights.

We first published a short version of this argument when the APR Games were just an idea. A lot has changed since then. The tournament is now a 10s event, the dates are locked, the prize money is confirmed, and Las Vegas has kept adding major sports to its calendar. Rugby itself has also moved: the men's Rugby World Cup is coming to the United States in 2031, the women's edition follows in 2033, and rugby sevens will be played at the LA 2028 Olympics. This rebuilt article sets out, with current numbers, why we think Las Vegas is the right city for American pro rugby to grow in, and where we think the city still has to prove itself.

The Case in One Sentence

If you were designing a city to host an amateur-to-pro rugby tournament from scratch, you would want three things: cheap and easy travel for teams coming from all over the country, enough affordable rooms to keep squads together, and a place where friends and families actually want to come and watch. Las Vegas checks all three boxes better than any other American city we looked at. It also brings something rugby in the United States has always struggled to find: attention.

American rugby has plenty of players. What it has lacked is a stage. Club games are often played in front of a few dozen friends on a weekend morning in a public park. That is a big part of what makes the club game special, but it does not grow the sport. A tournament in Las Vegas, played at night under lights, with real prize money and a party atmosphere, is a different proposition. It gives players a reason to train all year and gives fans a reason to book a trip.

Reason 1: Everyone Can Get Here

Rugby teams travel as groups of fifteen to twenty-five people, and they usually pay for themselves. That makes the airport the first thing we look at. Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) served nearly 55 million passengers in 2025, the third-highest total in its history, and the airport says it has direct connections to more than 170 markets. For a club in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Seattle or New York, that typically means a nonstop flight and a short ride to the hotel.

Las Vegas is also a drive-in city for much of the West. Teams from Southern California, Arizona and Utah can load a couple of vans and be there in an afternoon. That matters for the social and youth game, where budgets are tight and the cheapest option often decides whether a team goes at all.

Compare that with the usual alternative: a regional tournament in a smaller city with limited flights, expensive connections and one or two chain hotels near the fields. Those events have their place, but they cap how big a tournament can grow. Las Vegas does not.

Reason 2: Rooms for Every Squad and Every Budget

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority counts about 150,300 hotel rooms in the destination. That is more than almost any city in the world, and it creates a market where room rates change a lot by day and location. Off-Strip and downtown properties can be very affordable for a team block, while players who want the full Las Vegas experience can stay on the Strip.

For a rugby tournament that is a big deal. Squads want to stay together, coaches want players close to the venue, and families want a pool and something to do between games. In most host cities that means one overbooked hotel at inflated event prices. In Las Vegas, a city built to absorb conventions with tens of thousands of delegates, a rugby weekend fits in easily. In 2025 the city hosted nearly six million convention delegates alongside 38.5 million visitors, which shows how much capacity the hospitality system has.

If you are planning the trip, our partner Luna Appleton publishes Las Vegas guides on where to stay, eat and celebrate, which is useful when you are booking for a whole squad or bringing family to watch.

Reason 3: Las Vegas Already Has Rugby History

Las Vegas is not new to rugby. From 2010 to 2019 the USA Sevens, the American stop on the World Rugby Sevens Series, was played at Sam Boyd Stadium. It became one of the most popular events on the circuit and drew a three-day record crowd of 80,691 in 2017. Fans came in costume, players loved the atmosphere, and a generation of American rugby people still talk about those weekends.

The sevens did leave, and the reasons are worth being honest about. The tournament moved back to Southern California for 2020, after complaints about a narrow playing field at Sam Boyd Stadium, artificial turf and team hotel conditions, along with uncertainty about the stadium's future once the Raiders arrived. The event has since moved again, and the 2026 edition in Harrison, New Jersey, drew far smaller crowds than the Las Vegas years.

The lesson we take from that history is not that rugby failed in Las Vegas. It's the opposite. The crowds came. What fell short was the venue and the player experience. That is exactly what the APR Games is designed to get right: a properly sized pitch, evening games, and players treated like the main event.

Rugby league has also proved the market. The NRL has opened its season at Allegiant Stadium since 2024, and the NRL says Rugby League Las Vegas returns on Saturday, February 27, 2027, with Melbourne Storm vs Wests Tigers, Parramatta Eels vs Gold Coast Titans and a Super League game between Bradford Bulls and Leigh Leopards. When a professional league from the other side of the world keeps coming back to open its season here, it tells you the city can sell rugby.

Reason 4: A City That Has Turned Itself Into a Sports Capital

Ten years ago Las Vegas had no major professional sports teams. Today it has the Vegas Golden Knights (NHL, since 2017), the Las Vegas Aces (WNBA, since 2018) and the Las Vegas Raiders (NFL, since 2020), who play at the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium. The Athletics' ballpark on the Strip is projected to open in 2028. The city hosted Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 and has run the Las Vegas Grand Prix on the Strip since 2023.

That matters to rugby for two reasons. First, the city now has the event infrastructure, staff and know-how to run big sporting weekends, from security and transport to broadcast-ready venues. Second, local fans have learned to support teams. A city that fills arenas for hockey in the desert is a city that can learn to love rugby too.

It also means competition for attention. Las Vegas is crowded with events, and a new tournament has to earn its place on the calendar. That is one reason we picked Memorial Day Weekend: a long weekend when people travel anyway, and a date we can own every year.

Reason 5: The Format Fits the City

The APR Games is played as 10s rugby: ten players a side, typically five forwards and five backs, over two 20-minute halves. All Men's Elite and Women's Social games use that format, and the Youth division plays age-appropriate formats. We chose 10s because it keeps the contact, set pieces and tactics of the full game while opening up space for tries and making a busy schedule possible.

That format suits Las Vegas. Forty-minute games fit neatly into an evening program, so fans can watch several games and still go out afterwards. Squads are smaller than in the traditional full-sided game, so travel costs per team are lower. And the game is fast and easy to follow for a crowd that includes people seeing rugby live for the first time.

The Heat: Our Honest Answer

Every conversation about rugby in Las Vegas comes back to the weather. Late May in the desert is hot. Local averages for May are a high of about 90°F and a low of about 66°F, and late-May afternoons can run well into the 90s. Playing contact rugby at 2 PM in those conditions would be unsafe and miserable.

So we do not. Every APR Games session is in the evening under floodlights. Saturday, May 29, opens with the opening ceremony at 6 PM, an exhibition match at 7:30 PM and a social at 9 PM. Sunday, May 30, is pool games in the evening. Monday, May 31, is finals night: the Youth final at 4 PM, the Women's Social final at 6 PM and the Men's Elite final at 8 PM. With sunset around 7:30–7:50 PM at that time of year, the big games are played as the desert cools down.

We also plan hydration, shade and recovery as part of the event. Players should prepare too: train in the heat for a few weeks before you travel, arrive a day early if you can, and treat fluids and sleep as part of your game plan. Good, simple athlete nutrition from our partner Clann13 can be part of that routine, but the basics matter most: water, food and rest.

Why Now: America's Big Rugby Decade

Las Vegas is the right place. The second half of the argument is that now is the right time.

The 2031 men's Rugby World Cup will be played in the United States, and the women's tournament follows in 2033. World Rugby opened the host city process with 27 applicant cities and areas across North America; according to recent reports, final proposals are due in January and venues are set to be announced in February 2027. Las Vegas is not on that list, which we think is a missed opportunity, but the World Cup will still bring huge attention to rugby across the country. American players who start in clubs and tournaments today are the ones who will benefit.

The LA 2028 Olympic Games bring rugby sevens to Southern California, a short drive or flight from Las Vegas. The USA Eagles men are heading to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia in a tough pool with France, Japan and Samoa. At the same time, the professional club game at home has had a hard few seasons: Major League Rugby played 2026 with six teams after several franchises folded, and the Chicago Hounds were unbeaten champions.

APR's view is simple. Big international events create interest, but interest only becomes a stronger sport if there are places for new players to play and good reasons for existing players to keep going. A recurring, well-run tournament in a destination city is one of those places. That is what we are building, and Las Vegas gives it the best chance to last.

What Las Vegas Still Has to Prove

We believe in this city, but we are not blind to the risks. Here is our honest list of what still has to go right:

• Visitor numbers have dipped. Las Vegas welcomed about 38.5 million visitors in 2025, down 7.5% from 2024, and room rates fell too. For a tournament that can actually help players, because rates are softer, but it reminds us that nothing about tourism is guaranteed.
• Venue quality matters. The sevens era showed that a narrow pitch and poor facilities can push an event away. Full venue details and rules will be confirmed with player registration, and we will not announce what is not locked down.
• Local rugby has to grow with the event. The five founding Las Vegas franchises (Vegas Kings, Vegas Knights, Vegas Blackjacks, Downtown Rugby and Vegas Lions) give the city a base. Year-round club rugby, youth programs and coaching are what keep it alive between tournaments.
• Fans need to come back every year. One great weekend is not enough. Memorial Day Weekend every year is the plan.

Rugby and the Las Vegas Economy

Sport is now a central part of the Las Vegas economy. Hotels, restaurants, transport companies and local suppliers all benefit when a sports weekend brings thousands of visitors. A rugby tournament is an attractive version of that: a crowd that travels in groups, stays for several nights and spends money around the city.

That creates opportunities for local businesses beyond the pitch. Our partner In Too Win works on Las Vegas business and investment, and clubs and venues that want their name seen can talk to American LED Signage about signage. If your business wants to be part of the APR Games, get in touch.

How to Be Part of It

If you play, the first step is to join the waitlist. Player entry is $299, which includes an official APR Games team jersey, a full kit bag, a minimum of three guaranteed pool games, opening-night access and a player profile on americanprorugby.com. Waitlist players are the first to hear when registration details, full rules and squad sizes are published.

If you coach, look at the APR Coaching Clinic, which runs from May 28 to May 31, 2027, in Las Vegas. If you are a fan, plan a long weekend: games are in the evening, so your days are free for the city. If you are new to the game, our guide on how to start playing rugby as an adult in Las Vegas is a good place to begin.

And if you want to arrive looking the part, the APR merch store has official gear, while Giftabiz is a good place to find gifts for teammates and rugby fans in your family. For tournament updates, sign up to the APR newsletter and follow our rugby news coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Keep Reading

Sources

• Harry Reid International Airport: nearly 55 million passengers in 2025
• LVCVA: Las Vegas visitor, convention and hotel room figures
• Travel Weekly: Final tally confirms weak 2025 visitation for Vegas
• USA Sevens (Las Vegas era, attendance and relocation)
• NRL: Rugby League Las Vegas 2027
• Sports in the Las Vegas metropolitan area
• Americas Rugby News: Rugby World Cup 2031 host bids and timeline
• 8 News Now: What is the weather in Las Vegas like in May?
• 2026 Major League Rugby season
• RugbyPass: MLR down to six teams

This article replaces our earlier "Why Las Vegas" post. Statistics are taken from the sources listed above and are current as of October 2026. Full APR Games rules, squad sizes and venue details will be confirmed with player registration. Analysis sections reflect American Pro Rugby's opinion. Follow the APR newsletter for updates.