True Las Vegas 2026 crowd revealed with reason for drop on NRL figure explained

The NRL and Super League announced in March that over 45,000 fans attended the triple-header in Las Vegas: but official figures released this week show the true figure was much lower.

Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR were Super League’s representatives at the event at Allegiant Stadium, with the Rhinos picking up a huge win against the defending Super League champions.

It was estimated that around 10,000 Super League fans made the trip Stateside for the games, with the event schedule also having two NRL regular season fixtures on the card too.

But despite saying in the aftermath that 45,719 fans were at Allegiant for the games, new figures released by the holding company of the stadium show a different figure.

It has emerged that just 37,557 fans were in fact listed on the official attendance record – over 8,000 fewer than what the NRL and Super League confirmed at the time.

That is a staggering drop of almost 20% on the originally announced figure – but there is a logical reason and explanation for the drop.

It is understood that not all tickets which are scanned in to access Allegiant are cited in the annual report. That group of tickets which remain unscanned include corporate and VIP attendees – explaining why there is a difference between the two crowd figures.

The records also show that 74 per cent of people within that crowd of 37,557 were attending from out of town, hinting that there was some local interest in the event from Las Vegas residents.

96 per cent of those in attendance from out of town cited the event as their main reason for travelling to Allegiant Stadium, which does underline the economic value high-profile rugby league can bring to Las Vegas.

Who will go in 2027?

RL Commercial and Super League are expected to confirm on Tuesday evening that Bradford Bulls and Leigh Leopards will be the two English clubs making the trip Stateside in 2027.

Hull FC and St Helens were originally slated as the two teams that were going to go to the event, but both have pulled out in recent weeks due to the high costs associated with the trip.

But it looks as though some of those costs will be subsidised by the NRL, including food and hotel expenses. That is a major boost for English clubs, who lose money when they make the trip Stateside. It also emphasises how much value the NRL see in Super League teams being part of the trip.

The NRL is yet to confirm which four clubs will be on the bill from its own perspective. There will just be three games once again, with the international game that featured in the 2025 event scrapped and the belief three games is the perfect amount to keep supporters inside the venue for the whole occasion.