User:Ham105/sandbox/p1
Teams and players
[edit]
The league will begin play in 2016 with five or six U.S. based teams.[1] The competition plans to expand in 2017, and is expected to include Canadian teams.[2]
Each team has a roster limit of 30 players. Each team may field up to five foreign players.[2] All player contracts will be held by the league, and not by the individual teams.[3] Players will earn salaries on average of around $25,000, with national team players making closer to $40,000.[4]
The competition will operate as a single-entity structure. All teams, at least initially, will be owned by the league itself; individual investors will own an interest in the competition, but will not own individual teams.[3][5]
| Country | Club | City/Area | Stadium | Capacity | First season | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States
|
To be announced[6] | Sacramento, CA | Bonney Field | 11,442 | 2016 | To be announced |
| To be announced[7] | San Francisco, CA | Boxer Stadium | 3,500 | 2016 | Paul Keeler | |
| To be announced[8] | San Diego, CA | Torero Stadium | 6,000 | 2016 | To be announced |
| Sacramento |
|---|
| Bonney Field |
| 38°35′28″N 121°26′17″W / 38.59111°N 121.43806°W |
| Capacity: 11,442 |
|
| San Francisco |
|---|
| Boxer Stadium |
| 32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W |
| Capacity: 3,500 |
|
| San Diego |
|---|
| Torero Stadium |
| 32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W |
| Capacity: 6,000 |
|
Teams and players
[edit]Sacramento San Francisco San Diego |
|---|
The league will begin play in 2016 with five or six U.S. based teams.[9] The competition plans to expand in 2017, and is expected to include Canadian teams.[2]
Each team has a roster limit of 30 players. Each team may field up to five foreign players.[2] All player contracts will be held by the league, and not by the individual teams.[3] Players will earn salaries on average of around $25,000, with national team players making closer to $40,000.[10]
The competition will operate as a single-entity structure. All teams, at least initially, will be owned by the league itself; individual investors will own an interest in the competition, but will not own individual teams.[3][11]
| City/Area | Stadium | Head Coach | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento | Bonney Field | To be announced | [12] |
| San Francisco | Boxer Stadium | [13] | |
| San Diego | Torero Stadium | To be announced | [14] |
TBD
|
|||
TBD
|
|||
TBD
|
| Sacramento |
|---|
| Bonney Field |
| 38°35′28″N 121°26′17″W / 38.59111°N 121.43806°W |
| Capacity: 11,442 |
|
|
| San Francisco |
|---|
| Boxer Stadium |
| 32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W |
| Capacity: 3,500 |
|
|
| San Diego |
|---|
| Torero Stadium |
| 32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W |
| Capacity: 6,000 |
|
|
| Denver |
|---|
| Infinity Park |
| 39°41′57″N 104°56′6″W / 39.69917°N 104.93500°W |
| Capacity: 5,000 |
|
| Columbus |
|---|
| Memorial Park |
| 39°53′03″N 82°56′13″W / 39.88417°N 82.93694°W |
| Capacity: TBA |
Broadcast
[edit]PRO Rugby matches will be available for live online streaming. The competition does not currently have a TV broadcast contract.[2]
History
[edit]Previous attempts
[edit]For several years prior to PRO Rugby's planned launch in 2016, a number of entities had explored launching a professional competition for fifteen-a-side rugby. The Rugby Super League, a national competition that began play in 1997, was discussed as potentially moving towards becoming a professional competition,[citation needed] but the 2008 recession damaged the RSL and several teams exited the competition from 2009 to 2012, before the league folded following the 2012 season.
In 2012, the American Professional Rugby Competition was reported to be exploring a launch of a ten-team league for 2015,[15] but nothing came of it.
The National Rugby Football League also announced its intention to begin a professional rugby competition, and scheduled the Independence Cup, but the venture never got off the ground.[3][16]
PRO Rugby
[edit]In early November 2015, PRO Rugby launched its Facebook page and scheduled an announcement for November 9, 2015.[17]
On November 9, 2015, PRO Rugby made an official announcement outlining its plans and a framework for the competition. USA Rugby affirmed that it sanctioned and supported the PRO Rugby competition.[18] PRO Rugby announced its first team, Sacramento, on November 18, 2015.[19] PRO Rugby announced its second team, San Francisco, on November 19, 2015.[20]
Teams were scheduled to have coaches by the end of 2015.[21] However, the uncertainty caused by the open position for Head Coach of the U.S. national rugby team led to PRO Rugby announcements being put on hold.[22] As of mid-January 2016, with the U.S. head coach in place but no further developments from Pro Rugby, the league then offered the explanation that negotiating venues was what was holding up coach and player announcements, and that three venues were close to agreement.[23] On January 22, 2016, PRO Rugby announced San Diego as the league's third team, and media sources started speculating that the league may have only five teams in 2016 instead of the planned six teams.[24]
London
[edit]| London | London | London | Cardiff (Wales) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torero Stadium | Twickenham | Olympic Stadium | Millennium Stadium | ||
| 51°33′21″N 0°16′47″W / 51.55583°N 0.27972°W | 51°27′22″N 0°20′30″W / 51.45611°N 0.34167°W | 51°32′19″N 0°00′59″W / 51.53861°N 0.01639°W | 51°28′40″N 3°11′00″W / 51.47778°N 3.18333°W | ||
| Capacity: 90,000 | Capacity: 81,605 | Capacity: 56,000 | Capacity: 74,154 | ||
|
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Chart
[edit]
- ^ "Pro Rugby to run rugby union competition in North America", BBC Sport, November 9, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "USA Rugby takes next step in development with professional league", ESPN, Alexander Diegel, November 9, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "US professional rugby union competition to begin play in April", Guardian, Martin Pengelly, November 9, 2015.
- ^ "More Details On Pro Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 9, 2015.
- ^ "More On The Business Side Of PRO Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 10, 2015.
- ^ "Sacramento Announced As First Official PRO Rugby Side", This Is American Rugby, November 15, 2015.
- ^ "PRO Rugby Officially Announces San Francisco", This Is American Rugby, November 19, 2015.
- ^ http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2015/12/28/pro-rugby-headed-to-san-diego/
- ^ "Pro Rugby to run rugby union competition in North America", BBC Sport, November 9, 2015.
- ^ "More Details On Pro Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 9, 2015.
- ^ "More On The Business Side Of PRO Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 10, 2015.
- ^ "Sacramento Announced As First Official PRO Rugby Side", This Is American Rugby, November 15, 2015.
- ^ "PRO Rugby Officially Announces San Francisco", This Is American Rugby, November 19, 2015.
- ^ http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2015/12/28/pro-rugby-headed-to-san-diego/
- ^ "North American Pro 15’s Competition Gunning For 2015 Launch", Rugby America, Ted Hardy, December 20, 2012.
- ^ "America Gets a Pro Rugby Comp – and it Just Might Work", The Spinoff, Scotty Stevenson, November 9, 2015.
- ^ "Pro Rugby Announcement Coming Next Week", Goff Rugby Report, November 4, 2015.
- ^ "PRO Rugby Launches First Professional League in North America", USA Rugby, November 9, 2015.
- ^ "It's official: Sacramento will get team in nation's first pro rugby league", Sacramento Business Journal, November 18, 2015.
- ^ "PRO Rugby Officially Announces San Francisco", This Is American Rugby, November 19, 2015.
- ^ "Video & Notes From The PRO Rugby Sacramento Press Conference", This Is American Rugby, November 18, 2015.
- ^ "PRO Rugby headed to San Diego", Americas Rugby News, December 28, 2015.
- ^ "Why Venues Are Slowing PRO Rugby Announcements", This Is American Rugby, January 21, 2016.
- ^ "PRO Rugby Announces San Diego Team", This Is American Rugby, January 22, 2016.