Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington has spoken on his experience in Las Vegas and his biggest takeaways from the event, confirming that it’s reminded him of the huge ‘untapped potential’ of rugby league.
Hetherington flew over late in the week to attend the game in what he described as a ‘lightning visit’ with the long-term Rhinos chief missing his first Leeds game in 28 years, consequently.
Speaking on the Leeds Rhinos YouTube channel, he spoke about his Las Vegas experience and specifically what he took from the event.
“I didn’t intend to miss it (game versus Castleford Tigers) but I ended up going to Las Vegas as a bit of a last minute job really,” Hetherington explained, before noting how Vegas outdid his lofty expectations.
He said: “My experience was even more so, it was bigger and brasher than I could have even imagined. Everything about Las Vegas is different, it’s exciting and vibrant and it was great to have a rugby league festival there with so many fans.
“I bumped into a few from Leeds but to be on that centre stage and get as much media attention as the game got, it was fantastic.”
Leeds Rhinos CEO reveals biggest personal Las Vegas ‘reminder’
Hetherington admitted that he missed the majority of the fan events, all of which have been heavily praised by those who attended, however, he did reveal some insight into the major conference held that involved plenty of the sport’s biggest players.
On the week generally, he noted: “I only got there Thursday evening so I missed a lot of the fan engagement events but there was 15,000 at the main one on Thursday night and everybody was glowing in their tributes.
“It was just a real sort of extravaganza of rugby league, a real festival of rugby league and some really important games as well.”
“It was pretty much an all-day affair at the University of Las Vegas,” he confirmed when speaking of the conference.
“It was quite a remarkable conference that included people like Andrew Abdo, the chief executive of the NRL, Matt Dwyer who is the chief of IMG and some leading speakers and personalities from American sport.
“One of messages is how big and vibrant American sport is and how important it is to the economy and they were speaking about the potential for rugby league because they were saying we have a great game and they think there’s a real opportunity for the game to grow internationally as well.”
Importantly for the Rhinos chief, he explained that it helped remind him of the sport’s untapped potential with Leeds being one of those clubs who have traditionally stretched the sport’s boundaries.
Hetherington stated: “I think what it did for myself was remind me of the potential that rugby league has got and hitherto has been untapped as well. I think it’s been a very bold and ambitious plan to take the game to the United States.”
With Super League’s involvement in Las Vegas confirmed for 2026, could we see Leeds Rhinos head stateside?
