{"id":149637,"date":"2026-03-02T13:26:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/149637\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T13:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:26:24","slug":"rugby-sevens-eyes-u-s-market-expansion-with-first-new-york-metro-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/149637\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Sevens eyes U.S. market expansion with first New York metro event"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years before rugby returns to the main stage at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, HSBC Rugby Sevens will make its first stop in the New York City metro area this month.<\/p>\n

The two-day, 40-game event will take place March 14-15 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., and it is not expected to be a one-off. Having international rugby sevens played at the home of MLS side Red Bull New York and reigning NWSL champion Gotham FC will serve as a test of the New York metro area\u2019s capacity to host Rugby World Cup matches and high-profile internationals, as World Rugby continues its expansion into the U.S. market.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope and expectation is that this is a long-term arrangement,\u201d TEG Rugby Live Managing Director Stephen Cottrell told Sports Business Journal. \u201cWe will put every effort and every resource into making that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York metro area \u2014 with one of the largest potential rugby audiences in the U.S. \u2014 has been without professional rugby since Major League Rugby side Rugby New York folded in 2023. It is a crucial sports and commercial market for both World Rugby and Sevens sponsor HSBC, the British bank with U.S. headquarters in The Spiral in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the New York\/New Jersey games \u2014 which will be held during the last weekend of the regular season, after which qualifying teams will fight for HSBC SVNS World Championship medals \u2014 went on sale in early December. World Rugby, Sports Illustrated Stadium and TEG Rugby Live officials expect full capacity of 25,000 at the newest venue on the sevens calendar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to bring the HSBC SVNS series to New York, one of the world\u2019s most iconic cities, for the first time,\u201d World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin told media on the day of the announcement. \u201cThe city\u2019s energy and the passion of U.S. rugby fans make this the perfect stage for our athletes to showcase the speed, skill and energy of sevens rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eye on the East Coast<\/p>\n

The American leg of rugby sevens \u2014 which travels around the world in a Formula 1-style tournament format \u2014 has traditionally been hosted on the West Coast: first in Los Angeles, then in San Diego before a decade-long run in Las Vegas and a return to L.A.<\/p>\n

The move to New York\/New Jersey marks a shift in World Rugby\u2019s approach to the U.S. market, with increased emphasis being placed on the East Coast. Moving its major games around the country allows World Rugby to build what Gilpin calls \u201ca heat map of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are probably going to explore the U.S. market more,\u201d Gilpin told SBJ. \u201cThe U.S. leg of sevens is part of a wider U.S. ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilpin said the format is exciting for fans because of the increased tournament jeopardy. He also believes sevens offers real pathways for players and teams to enter the sport and participate in the Olympics. As of 2024, USA Rugby had more than 100,000 active members, half of them youth (8-14 years old) and high school registrations.<\/p>\n

In addition to player development, World Rugby\u2019s stated goal ahead of LA28 and its North American World Cups (men\u2019s in 2031 and women\u2019s in 2033) is to create awareness and interest in both versions of the sport. The hope is that the HSBC SVNS will build on New York\u2019s long rugby history and demonstrate that SI Stadium is a viable host venue for major rugby events.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what we\u2019re doing, U.S.-facing, is trying to understand what U.S. markets work for rugby,\u201d Gilpin said.<\/p>\n

\"RugbySixteen teams, eight men’s and eight women’s, will compete in the two-day, 40-game event at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J. HSBC SVNS <\/p>\n

The Big Apple is the annual host of the New York Sevens tournament, which was created in 1959. It is the oldest sevens tournament still played in the U.S., with over 140 teams across differing divisions, but this will be the first time rugby sevens\u2019 premier international event is coming to the East Coast.<\/p>\n

TEG Rugby Live will run and promote the New York Sevens, a change from the L.A. Sevens, which were promoted by AEG. TEG Rugby Live also organized the All Blacks 2024 game against Fiji in San Diego, and their 2025 rematch against Ireland in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see the U.S. as an absolutely critical market,\u201d Cottrell said. \u201cWith the men\u2019s and women\u2019s World Cups coming here, it\u2019s a really big focus for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sevens was the next logical step for TEG, according to Cottrell, after its other successful rugby internationals.<\/p>\n

All parties are highly confident this month\u2019s games will be a success, but challenges remain. Finding hotels and training grounds for all 16 teams (eight men\u2019s, eight women\u2019s) is essential to delivering high-quality rugby. Also, hosting an outdoor, two-day festival of rugby at the tail end of the North American winter could create suboptimal playing conditions.<\/p>\n

However, Christoph Schoenbeck, head of events for Red Bull New York and SI Stadium, is convinced the venue can deliver the traditional rugby sevens party atmosphere. \u201cIf we can make our event half as fun as Hong Kong [Sevens], we\u2019ll have done a really good job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

SI Stadium experiences<\/p>\n

Ahead of the March games, Schoenbeck and his team are preparing a 700-person premium space on the plaza level of the stadium to help host the fan festival, which will include a DJ and food stalls. Inside, they are putting together an NBA-style entertainment experience to limit fan downtime between the 14-minute matches, and Schoenbeck has promised premium hospitality for VIP guests and potential Red Bull brand engagement activations.<\/p>\n

It will be a busy three weeks for Sports Illustrated Stadium. The venue will host two Red Bull New York games (including the club\u2019s MLS home season opener), the final two SheBelieves Cup matches (Canada vs. Argentina and USA vs. Colombia) and two full days of rugby sevens.<\/p>\n

\"SportsInternational rugby sevens will be part of SI Stadium’s busy March schedule that includes the SheBelieves women’s soccer tournament. Getty Images <\/p>\n

On the field, SI Stadium will have to adapt quickly from soccer to rugby and then back to soccer. While the width of the field is the same for both sports, Schoenbeck said goal sleeves will have to be swapped in, and LED boards will be put in place ahead of the New York Sevens.<\/p>\n

Schoenbeck\u2019s greatest concern is the state of the grass after 15-plus hours of rugby. However, he and his team are betting that a torn-up field will be worth their while as they attempt to transition SI Stadium from a soccer-specific venue to a multiuse sports and entertainment hub.<\/p>\n

The USA men\u2019s team will not compete at the New York Sevens, as it is in the second division (SVNS 2) of the competition. The USA women\u2019s team will be fighting for a medal. At the time of writing, the women\u2019s Eagles are third in the overall standings with 54 points, and leader New Zealand has 78 points. On the men\u2019s side, Fiji leads the table with 70 points, followed closely by South Africa and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

This could even be an opportunity for World Rugby as well. \u201cWith the women in SVNS 1 and the men in SVNS 2, at the moment, there is an option to play more than one sevens event per year in the U.S.,\u201d Gilpin said.<\/p>\n

Vitas Carosella covers the expansion of rugby in the U.S. and is based in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two years before rugby returns to the main stage at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, HSBC Rugby Sevens…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4883,9,24,55,54,56,13296,22922,62674],"class_list":{"0":"post-149637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-international","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-city-news","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-print","15":"tag-rugby","16":"tag-upfront"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}