Major League Rugby championship game pits New York v Seattle – and puts US in shop window

Rugby New York will host the Major League Rugby championship game on Saturday, at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. Regardless of the result, the city of Seattle, nearly 3,000 miles away, will celebrate.

The mayor, Bruce A Harrell, joined other local leaders in declaring 25 June Seattle Seawolves Community Pride Day, in recognition of the two-time champions’ reaching a third MLR final in five seasons. (Four completed, 2020 having been lost to Covid.)

An official proclamation recognised “deep ties to our community” and “strong, positive role models for the young people in Seattle”. The mayor also praised “one of the most passionate and vibrant fanbases in the league and beyond”.

The Red Bull, a Major League Soccer venue, can hold 25,000 fans of any degree of passion. New York have sold out JFK Stadium in Hoboken this year but it holds just 1,500. After beating the New England Free Jacks in the eastern championship game, they have had less than a week to sell tickets fo the final. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 in the US and online around the world. MLR crowds are growing but small; a good-looking showpiece would be handy.

George Killebrew, the MLR commissioner, told the Guardian: “Having your finals in Los Angeles or New York is the biggest stage you can be on. So we had the final at the LA Coliseum last year, and then the final at Red Bull Arena this year. You want to be big on the coasts.

“We put 9,000 or so in the Coliseum [to see LA beat Atlanta]. There is a much shorter window here in New York. So I think … 5,000 would be awesome. The way they’re configuring the stadium, they’re focusing in on those sections that are camera-visible. If we can get those somewhat filled, I think we’ll have a good day.”

MLR