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User:Ham105/sandbox/p1

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Teams and players

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Sacramento
 
San Francisco
 
San Diego
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Locations of teams for the 2016 PRO Rugby season.

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 / 38.59111; -121.43806 (Bonney Field)
Capacity: 11,442
 
San Francisco
Boxer Stadium
32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W / 32.77306; -117.18361 (Boxer Stadium)
Capacity: 3,500
 
San Diego
Torero Stadium
32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W / 32.77306; -117.18361 (Torero Stadium)
Capacity: 6,000
 

Teams and players

edit
 
 
Sacramento
 
San Francisco
 
San Diego
class=notpageimage|
Locations of teams for the 2016 PRO Rugby season.

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 / 38.59111; -121.43806 (Bonney Field)
Capacity: 11,442
 
San Francisco
Boxer Stadium
32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W / 32.77306; -117.18361 (Boxer Stadium)
Capacity: 3,500
 
San Diego
Torero Stadium
32°46′23″N 117°11′1″W / 32.77306°N 117.18361°W / 32.77306; -117.18361 (Torero Stadium)
Capacity: 6,000
 
Denver
Infinity Park
39°41′57″N 104°56′6″W / 39.69917°N 104.93500°W / 39.69917; -104.93500 (Infinity Park)
Capacity: 5,000
 
Columbus
Memorial Park
39°53′03″N 82°56′13″W / 39.88417°N 82.93694°W / 39.88417; -82.93694 (Memorial Park)
Capacity: TBA

Broadcast

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PRO Rugby matches will be available for live online streaming. The competition does not currently have a TV broadcast contract.[2]

History

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Previous attempts

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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

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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

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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 / 51.55583; -0.27972 (Wembley Stadium) 51°27′22″N 0°20′30″W / 51.45611°N 0.34167°W / 51.45611; -0.34167 (Twickenham Stadium) 51°32′19″N 0°00′59″W / 51.53861°N 0.01639°W / 51.53861; -0.01639 (Olympic Stadium (London)) 51°28′40″N 3°11′00″W / 51.47778°N 3.18333°W / 51.47778; -3.18333 (Millennium Stadium)
Capacity: 90,000 Capacity: 81,605 Capacity: 56,000 Capacity: 74,154
       

Chart

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Cardiff City F.C.Swansea City A.F.C.Blackpool F.C.Burnley F.C.Stoke City F.C.Hull City A.F.C.Reading F.C.Wigan Athletic F.C.Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.Portsmouth F.C.West Bromwich Albion F.C.Birmingham City F.C.Fulham F.C.Watford F.C.Bradford City A.F.C.Charlton Athletic F.C.Barnsley F.C.Sunderland A.F.C.Derby County F.C.Bolton Wanderers F.C.Leicester City F.C.West Ham United F.C.Swindon Town F.C.Newcastle United F.C.Wimbledon F.C.Tottenham Hotspur F.C.Southampton F.C.Sheffield Wednesday F.C.Sheffield United F.C.Queens Park Rangers F.C.Oldham Athletic A.F.C.Nottingham Forest F.C.Norwich City F.C.Middlesbrough F.C.Manchester United F.C.Manchester City F.C.Liverpool F.C.Leeds United A.F.C.Ipswich Town F.C.Everton F.C.Crystal Palace F.C.Coventry City F.C.Chelsea F.C.Blackburn Rovers F.C.Aston Villa F.C.Arsenal F.C.


  1. ^ "Pro Rugby to run rugby union competition in North America", BBC Sport, November 9, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e "USA Rugby takes next step in development with professional league", ESPN, Alexander Diegel, November 9, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e "US professional rugby union competition to begin play in April", Guardian, Martin Pengelly, November 9, 2015.
  4. ^ "More Details On Pro Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "More On The Business Side Of PRO Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Sacramento Announced As First Official PRO Rugby Side", This Is American Rugby, November 15, 2015.
  7. ^ "PRO Rugby Officially Announces San Francisco", This Is American Rugby, November 19, 2015.
  8. ^ http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2015/12/28/pro-rugby-headed-to-san-diego/
  9. ^ "Pro Rugby to run rugby union competition in North America", BBC Sport, November 9, 2015.
  10. ^ "More Details On Pro Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "More On The Business Side Of PRO Rugby", This Is American Rugby, November 10, 2015.
  12. ^ "Sacramento Announced As First Official PRO Rugby Side", This Is American Rugby, November 15, 2015.
  13. ^ "PRO Rugby Officially Announces San Francisco", This Is American Rugby, November 19, 2015.
  14. ^ http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2015/12/28/pro-rugby-headed-to-san-diego/
  15. ^ "North American Pro 15’s Competition Gunning For 2015 Launch", Rugby America, Ted Hardy, December 20, 2012.
  16. ^ "America Gets a Pro Rugby Comp – and it Just Might Work", The Spinoff, Scotty Stevenson, November 9, 2015.
  17. ^ "Pro Rugby Announcement Coming Next Week", Goff Rugby Report, November 4, 2015.
  18. ^ "PRO Rugby Launches First Professional League in North America", USA Rugby, November 9, 2015.
  19. ^ "It's official: Sacramento will get team in nation's first pro rugby league", Sacramento Business Journal, November 18, 2015.
  20. ^ "PRO Rugby Officially Announces San Francisco", This Is American Rugby, November 19, 2015.
  21. ^ "Video & Notes From The PRO Rugby Sacramento Press Conference", This Is American Rugby, November 18, 2015.
  22. ^ "PRO Rugby headed to San Diego", Americas Rugby News, December 28, 2015.
  23. ^ "Why Venues Are Slowing PRO Rugby Announcements", This Is American Rugby, January 21, 2016.
  24. ^ "PRO Rugby Announces San Diego Team", This Is American Rugby, January 22, 2016.
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