Premiership Rugby in talks to stage league match at Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field | Prem Rugby
Première Rugby is staging a match at Wrigley Field in Chicago next season, the first attempt to play a game abroad since Saracens played Newcastle in Philadelphia in 2017.
The catchy plan to organize a match at the famous Chicago Cubs house would be a significant boost for rugby in the United States, hosts of the 2031 Rugby World Cup.
Première Rugby renamed competition as Gallagher Prem for this season, which begins with the trip of Gloucester on sale Thursday evening, and actively courts America’s investments.
The title sponsors are business partners from the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball and their Wrigley field, where part of the stadium is known as Gallagher Way.
The Guardian learned that the first rugby had discussions on taking a match at Wrigley Field during the 2026-27 season. He would coincide with the 100th anniversary of Gallagher, an insurance company based in Chicago. Gallagher and the Cubs are considered receptive, while many Prem clubs would be interested despite the need to sacrifice a home game.
The PremièreHip Rugby hired New York Raine Group Bank based in New York and the accountants Deloitte earlier this year with a dissertation to attract new investors, especially from the United States. They directed the auction of a hundred £ of 520 million pounds sterling for the board of directors of England and Wales in January, so referred to the supply of investment in English sport.
Raine Group and Deloitte would have been invited to market both the PREM in competition and to seek participations in individual English clubs. The Austrian company of energy drinks Red Bull bought Newcastle Falcons last summer, while the Jordan group agreed to buy London Irish, who hopes to join the new second level champion next season.
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A spokesperson for Gallagher told The Guardian: “We would be delighted to have a prem game in Chicago, where our world headquarters are, especially since we are about to mark our centenary of negotiation. There are not yet firm plans in place. ”
Premier rugby has already targeted America with mixed results. Saracens and London Irish played in New York in 2016 and the following year, Newcastle and Saracens met in Philadelphia, but this game only attracted 6,000 fans.
