Can World Arena Rugby Work?

There has been a lot of noise this summer about professional rugby in this United States, but by and large it has just been big talk by folks who couldn't deliver. First their was the Golden Lions tour that was cancelled at the last minute, then the Grand Prix 7's, followed by the Independence Cup. Now we have the news that World Arena Rugby is ready for a comeback and will be holding a tournament next month. With the failings and empty promises of three above events, it's natural to have a bit of skepticism towards WAR. Only adding fuel to that fire was the announcement today that WAR is not sanctioned by either the Texas Rugby Union or U.S.A. Rugby. That fact that either organization would hold back their sanction is not entirely surprising, but it does make it more difficult for the organization to operate.

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Additionally, WAR already had a go once before in 1998 and didn't make it past one year. So what is going to make this year any different? As was pointed out in an article on TIAR announcing the return of WAR, Mark Savoy, the CEO of the company that manages WAR, believes that using smaller arenas and more outlets for broadcasting the matches make it a more profitable venture than before. In many ways, he's right. As sports like Arena Football, the LFL (insert laugh here), and minor league hockey have shown, playing in smaller venues where rent is possibly cheaper and there is a more intimate atmosphere for fans will make for steady platform for fans and advertisers.

At this point rugby is still growing. Trying to get 30,000 people out to tournament when only 20,000 have ever shown up to a rugby match in the U.S. is illogical, so is assuming that you are a (former) Super Rugby team in South Africa and all you have to do is show up and people will flock to your matches. Anyone who has ever looked at attendance figures for club rugby matches would now that besides one off events, rugby doesn't attract that many fans. That said, if WAR positions itself in the right markets in the right venues it can work.

The first thing WAR needs to do in order to work is make sure next month's event goes off as plan. It's worrying that tickets have yet to be sold and there hasn't been much promotion for the event. Even if you got the message out to all the rugby diehards in the area it probably still wouldn't be a huge crowd given people have scheduling conflicts and the like. For this tournament, and the planned league for next season, to happen they need to tap into people that are curious about rugby. So far it looks as if they have yet to do that.

The second thing the group needs to do if there are serious about having a season in the summer of 2014 is to partner will local teams. Local teams not only know the best players, but also know how to reach out to the local rugby community. Most of the failings of the planned rugby events above was not engaging the local community. WAR needs to have the support of folks like Serevi Rugby, Belmont Shore, SFGG, Boston, and others on board if they are going to make it work. Not only do these teams have the organizations to build and staff the teams, but they also have access to large youth networks. Let's be honest, one of the tried and true ways for minor league sports to get fans in the seats is to give away tickets to youth groups.

The fact that WAR supposedly has big pockets, just as they other groups claimed to have, shouldn't mean much. You don't earn a lot of money by giving it away or starting losing ventures. The three previous groups weren't willing to lose enough money at first to go ahead with the venture. One of the positives about WAR is that their model doesn't take as much risks as some of the other models out there. That may mean they are more willing to see their program out at first and wait for sponsors rather than get sponsors and go. As the other ventures have shown, that model just doesn't work at the moment.

There are a few other challenges that may make it difficult for WAR to work. Holding the season in the summer may work from an arena availability standpoint but it runs right into the club 7's season. Local teams may not be willing to work with a team if they know their best players are going to be taken. Also, WAR needs to find a way to get in the good graces of U.S.A. Rugby. It's about legitimacy and it will be hard to convince an overseas player that the league is legitimate if it doesn't have sanctioning. There could be too much risk for the player.

All of that said, I personally think that WAR has the best shot of any of the announcements so far of happening. Using smaller arenas, playing 7's, and going will smaller expectations is exactly what's needed. They also seem to be the most practical and patient of any of the groups. If it does work, it could be the thing that begins to put rugby over the top in the United States. It may not be perfect or what we might eventually want for pro rugby, but it's a good start and better than nothing. As long as we try to emulate what is happening around the world we will continually be left behind for numerous reasons. By doing something different rugby in America has an opportunity to create a nice niche for itself.

I hope it does work, not only for fans, but for players, coaches, and people like myself who would have an excuse to be even more involved in rugby. The appetite is there and hopefully this is what begins to satiate it.