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Major League Rugby’s franchise in Atlanta is no more. The team known as Rugby ATL has been purchased by new owners and will be relocated for the 2024 season. No confirmation of the team’s new home has been made but sources have indicated to Americas Rugby News that LA is the likely destination.
ATL was co-founded by majority owner Marcus Calloway and current Eagles coach Scott Lawrence ahead of their inaugural 2020 campaign. Playing out of Lupo Family Field at Life University, the team reached the Championship Final in 2021, losing out to the LA Giltinis at the Memorial Coliseum.
Calloway died in December of that year after a long battle with illness, and Lawrence left the team prior to the 2022 season after a disagreement with management. Errik Anderson, owner of the New England Free Jacks, agreed to purchase the team though it was run independently by Global Rugby Ventures with Amanda Windsor-White named President of Business Operations.
The team moved to Silverbacks Park in 2022 and they would reach the postseason again that year. Their struggles began earlier this year management opted to rebrand, casting aside the fan-inspired ‘Ratlers’ nickname and changing color schemes. Attendance dropped sharply and their performance on the field suffered, with the team finishing 5th in the Eastern Conference.
Should Los Angeles be confirmed as the new home of the team, it would mark a return for MLR in the city after a one-year hiatus. The Giltinis were suspended ahead of the 2022 postseason, along with the Austin Gilgronis, after owner Adam Gilchrist was found to have violated the ownership agreement. A bid was tabled to purchase the Giltinis last year but the league ultimately declined the offer, and no team was fielded in LA this past season.
This will be the first relocation of a franchise in MLR. The Colorado (initially Glendale) Raptors dropped out of the league following the 2020 season and ultimately rebranded as the American Raptors, choosing to join Super Rugby Americas (formerly SLAR) in 2023. Both Austin and LA were suspended indefinitely last year, with their players distributed to other teams via a dispersal draft.
The loss of the Atlanta team is a blow to rugby in the southeast, though it will be softened slightly by the addition of the Miami Sharks to Major League Rugby in 2024. It’s unconfirmed at this stage how MLR will address the existing ATL roster though it is likely that new ownership will have the first opportunity to negotiate with players still under contract.
