With a history dating back to 1888, the British and Irish Lions are a composite rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Every four years the Lions are brought together to tour Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa (over a 12-year cycle, all three nations will be visited). The Lions are one of the biggest names in rugby, so the team usually attracts numerous brands to take up sponsorship opportunities for each tour.
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The Lions are touring Australia in 2025 and have currently signed four sponsorship agreements, worth in total $6.45 million across the length of the deals. The most lucrative is the insurance broker Howden’s four-year agreement – worth $15.2 million across the length of the partnership – to serve as the British and Irish Lions’ primary shirt sponsor.
The Lions’ commercial team are constantly searching for new ways to increase the revenue of each tour. This was the case in 2013 when their visit to Australia included a game in Hong Kong, where the Lions comfortably defeated the Barbarians in front of over 26,000 fans.
In terms of potential new markets, taking the Lions brand to the US would be a big move for decision-makers as they strive to grow the team’s commercial footprint across the globe.
The major resort city Las Vegas is seemingly their preferred destination, with Los Angeles and Chicago also identified as potential cities that could host a match before the 2029 tour of New Zealand.
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By GlobalDataThe US is a sports market that major rugby properties have been eyeing to help grow their brands. In 2014 and 2016 the All Blacks played two separate matches against the US and Ireland, both in Chicago.
The 2016 New Zealand-Ireland match was a thrilling game played in front of 62,300 spectators at Soldier Field, resulting in a historic first win for Ireland against the All Blacks.
Those two fixtures were significant in raising awareness of rugby in North America and allowed potential US fans to gain a greater understanding of New Zealand rugby, which included witnessing the team’s iconic pre-match Haka ritual.
Las Vegas, specifically, also has a big rugby community, as well as being a city with huge commercial opportunities (as motor racing’s Formula 1 is now finding), so for the Lions to follow the All Blacks’ example and play an exhibition match there could well be a substantial success both on and off the pitch.
With the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup tournaments in 2031 and 2033, respectively, both taking place in the US, a sold-out British and Irish Lions match in that market would be another significant milestone for rugby in there, and would further boost the sport’s global relevance.
World Rugby will be hoping that the league will accelerate its growth in popularity in the years leading up to the 2031 and 2033 men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups and attract new eyes to the sport, with the hope of tickets being in high demand for the World Cups.
Many sports have identified Las Vegas as a game changer in growing their commercial footprint and engaging with a new audience. In November 2023, Formula 1 returned to Las Vegas and was a major success financially.
Numerous lucrative sponsorship agreements were signed, with brands eager to be part of the latest major event to take place in the desert city. Tickets and hospitality packages were in huge demand and many A-list celebrities attended the event.
The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix had a title sponsorship deal in place with the beer company Heineken, worth $10 million across one edition of the race. The brewing heavyweight clearly benefited from the partnership – as it has subsequently signed a one-year extension with Formula 1.
Various US-based travel & tourism companies have also looked to associate themselves with the Las Vegas Grand Prix – and this is certainly a sponsorship sector that the British and Irish Lions target if any future Lions game in America is confirmed.
A British and Irish Lions game in America could, in addition, play a big part in attracting more Americans to follow Major League Rugby, the American league that is still new to many, having only been launched in 2018.
To conclude, the British and Irish Lions are constantly analyzing new ways of developing their brand, like all sports properties, (even if these aspirations are sometimes criticized by fans).
With the team having already played one exhibition game in Asia, it feels inevitable that a Lions match could well be heading to a new territory.
With 2031 and 2033 being potentially game changing years for US Rugby and World Rugby, a 2029 showpiece Lions game in North America could be the perfect opportunity for the country to show that it has the world-leading infrastructure in place to host unforgettable men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups.
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