Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Long rumored and originally reported in November, sources have indicated to Americas Rugby News that Denver is now certain to be one of the two PRO Rugby franchises still to be officially unveiled. The team will be based in Glendale and play out of Infinity Park, currently the home of Pacific Rugby Premiership (PRP) side Glendale Raptors. Indeed the new franchise is likely to see many similarities between the two sides, with several Raptors expected to be named on the playing roster.
Infinity Park is specifically geared for rugby with a capacity of 4,000. It opened in 2007 and has since hosted three US Eagles test matches – Russia in 2010, Canada in 2011, and Georgia in 2012. It also regularly hosts collegiate rugby matches as well as the annual Serevi RugbyTown Sevens tournament.
It remains to be seen how a potential clash with the PRP is handled. With the new season already underway, games are scheduled through to May 7 with a final slated for May 14. While no proposed dates for PRO Rugby directly interfere with the PRP schedule, the new competition is slated to kick off on April 17 with matches straight through to May 29 before a month-long break to accommodate the World Rugby international test window.
It was previously thought that Salt Lake City was a front runner for the fifth and final spot, but a new name has emerged in recent days with Columbus, Ohio, now favored to become the only franchise east of the Mississippi. Columbus is currently the home of elite 7s development program Tiger Rugby. With the reduction from six teams to five, East Coast franchises are not expected to be added until 2017.
