Knights boss has high hopes for NRL's Las Vegas venture

Ahead of the league's historic double-header at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday (AEDT), Gardner will travel to America this week to attend a CEO's conference in the Nevada city.

The Wests Group/Knights CEO will get to see first hand how the NRL makes its mark in America's entertainment capital, but he is confident it will prove a beneficial endeavour for the game.

"This year will be a success," Gardner said.

"Everywhere you go, people are asking me if you're going to be there, particularly in Sydney.

"There's 15,000 Aussies travelling that we know of, going over, so there will be a very good crowd there.

"I know our local fans are very excited about knowing when we're going because they want to start booking and organising it now. I think we'll have a huge contingent go when it's our turn.

"I've got great hopes for it. I wouldn't bet against Peter V'landys in anything, and I think Pete has probably got this one right as well."

The NRL, under the vision of Australian Rugby League Commission chair V'landys, plans to play a double-header in Las Vegas annually for the next five years.

The venture, which will afford each club the opportunity to play in the city at least once, is designed to garner additional income for the code, particularly through sports betting and broadcast rights.

The sports betting industry has recently boomed in the USA following its legalisation in a host of states, and the NRL hopes to derive revenue from bookmaker fees.

It also hopes to increase the number of people watching the game, and has identified subscriptions to the Watch NRL app as a target growth area.

Gardner said there was potential for the code to get a huge windfall, which would ultimately trickle down to the clubs and players.

"The key thing for the game is financial viability. The game, through its history, has had up and downs financially," he said.

"If we can get a much larger dollar for our international TV rights, and currently we get very little, that will dramatically improve the financial viability of the game.

"That means the players get paid more, there's more money in the game, you can fund the juniors better and all those sorts of things.

"There's potential for clubs, eventually, to get one, two, three or five millions dollars or more each year, into their revenue base, if we can get the TV rights up to even a small amount in the US market."

With Newcastle required to play in Las Vegas at some point during the five-year commitment, Gardner's trip will also allow him to get an early understanding of what works and what doesn't work for the clubs involved.

The Roosters, Rabbitohs, Broncos and Sea Eagles will have spent the best part of two weeks in America once their trips are done, a significant portion of time away from their Australian bases at the start of a season.

The four teams were chosen by the NRL to be the first to play in America for various reasons, but clubs will tender their interest to be involved in coming years.

Gardner told the Newcastle Herald last August that the Knights were interested in participating in 2025, but he said ahead of his trip that the club wouldn't give up a home game to take part.

That stance could potentially delay Newcastle's trip to Las Vegas, as clubs willing to give up a home fixture are likely to be preferenced.

"It depends on a range of factors, and there will be a draw around that," Gardner said. "But we won't give up a home game.

"It's the same challenge we have with Magic Round.

"We'll make sure every home game is here at Newcastle to look after our fans, but we'd like to see the Knights as part of that as soon as possible."

Following the introduction of the Dolphins last season as the NRL's 17th team, and a resulting bye for one side each full round, Newcastle were the first team to miss out on playing at the annual Magic Round last year.

The club had never given up a home game to play at Magic Round, and doesn't want to, in order to play all 12 home games at McDonald Jones Stadium.