I love this idea! If Fenway doesn't work then by all means they should find some where else to play. The London Irish playing an H Cup game in Boston would really promote the game. http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?o...t-fenway&catid=84:rugbymagcom-blog&Itemid=272 Rugby at Fenway? Fenway and rugby? Hmmm According to a report by the BBC, London Irish is considering going to Boston to play a match on American soil. Club CEO Andy Martin picked Boston because of its heavily Irish population, and said, “you can imagine the scene. Fenway Park in Boston full of Irish people, hopefully with some of the fans from here going across to watch us playing an Italian side in the Heineken Cup." Martin said his club is just playing with the idea.
I don't think it is going to work unfortunately. There is not enough critical mass of hardcore rugby fans to sell enough tickets to make this match a commercial success, and casual American sports fans would not be interested in watching two foreign teams play some strange sport.
Exactly. I might be willing to make the trip up, but I certainly would have my choice and of pretty much any seat.
Unfortunately this sort of thing has got to be part of a long term strategy. I wish American rugby had their own version of Soccer United Market.
It's not going to work because Fenway's too small for a field of 120 meters minimum field length per IRB rules (120m is 393 feet, home plate to center field at Fenway is 390 feet to provide context) multiplied by 65 to 70 meters (213 feet to 229 feet) field width. Well there's no money in the sport here unlike soccer a decade ago where you had a bunch of Mexicans, Eurosnobs, and the national team (or at least who the national team was playing) that'd all move tickets. None of these circumstances exist for rugby to anywhere near the same extent.