In an announcement today U.S.A. Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Union officially confirmed their test match at Soldier Field in Chicago on November 1st. The match has of course long been rumored but there were a lot of moving parts that had come together before it could be officially announced. The main driving force behind the match is AIG, who sponsors both the All Blacks and the Eagles. The All Blacks have also wanted a match in the United States for some time in order to tap into the huge U.S. commercial market.
Because the match will take place on November 1st it falls outside the Autumn International window. For the All Blacks that won't be an issue since their players are out of season but for the U.S. that could mean that they have a hard time obtaining the likes of Chris Wyles, Blaine Scully, and Samu Manoa. Premiership clubs face big fines if they release players outside test windows. U.S.A. Rugby is trying to negotiate with European clubs to get them to release the players early in exchange for returning them early from the fall tour.
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U.S.A. Rugby is reportedly guaranteeing the All Blacks $1 million for participating in the match. Some of that will likely be covered by AIG and a strong turnout, which is expected to be above 40,000, should help make it a profitable event regardless of that payout. Of course having the All Blacks in the U.S. will give the Eagles a lot of exposure both domestically and internationally. The major concern with the match is the U.S. losing by an extremely large margin and turning fans off.
Tickets for the match go on sale on June 16th. Fans that sign up at usavallblacks.com prior to June 1st will get priority. It is also expected that the match will receive ample television coverage with the match on NBC.