The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series has returned to Los Angeles after being held in Las Vegas since 2010.
With LA hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics, this move was no coincidence. The Dignity Health Sports Park is home to the MLS team LA Galaxy and the NFL’s LA Chargers. It will also be the venue for the Rugby in the 2028 Olympics, so the current four-year deal with World Rugby to host the annual Series there is a good opportunity to create an established home for the increasingly popular sport.
Viewing numbers skyrocket for 7s
The 2019 HSBC World Sevens Series increased its video views by 65% in a year to 198 million according to World Rugby. The USA can claim their fair share of that growth as the Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams both finished in the top 2 that year, with stars that are already household names.
The USA’s love of rugby isn’t something new though, the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held in California, with USA finishing 6th. The USA Olympic team, which is currently ranked 2nd and has qualified for the 2020 Olympics, featured NFL star Nate Ebner in 2016, gaining viewers from the American Football audience. In fact, Nielsen research shows that, at 33 million, the US has the highest proportion of rugby fans in the world.
✅ Disco feet
✅ American football-style pass
✅ On the buzzerA textbook @USARugby try in their own back yard at #LASevens ? pic.twitter.com/UftrB5s0Nd
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) March 1, 2020
Growing the at-game audience
So it’s understandable that the US would look to capitalise on this potential by moving the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series to a venue that could grow local audiences rather than attract the large overseas following that had been going on tour to Vegas since 2010.
95% of the attendees in Las Vegas were ‘out-of-market’ and local businesses, mostly casinos, were not investing in the event. A new home was needed for Rugby Sevens that was more inclusive, family-friendly and that would attract and keep a local audience.
“The HSBC World Series is a special pillar within the rugby world and we are ecstatic for the series to continue its presence in the United States. Los Angeles truly sets the stage here in 2020 with our men’s sevens reaching new heights, the Olympics merely months away and the Invitational Tournament returning as community engagement around the tournament.”
Ross Young, USA Rugby CEO
7s sponsors are dressed to impress in 3D branding
Broadcasted on NBC Sports, the HSBC LA Sevens is a prime opportunity for World Rugby’s sponsors to gain visibility to this large and engaged US audience and the growing global viewers through World Rugby’s own platform and broadcast partners.
Nothing to see here just @LosPumas7s scoring a sizzling try under 10 seconds…#LASevens pic.twitter.com/puCVCDCnVA
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) February 29, 2020
As with all the other stops on the Series – Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Paris – Amayse provides the 3D Painted Logos on the rugby pitch. We have worked on this event for over 15 years and our specialist team are very familiar with the venues and the sponsors.
For a new venue, such as Los Angeles, our Sports Branding team visit the site early to conduct a thorough site survey and speak to the stadium and commercial teams to ensure the exact positioning required to perfectly reproduce sponsors logos in 3D in the TV broadcast.
Close communication with ground staff is also particularly important in a new venue so that we can produce the best possible looking pitch logos, working around other pitch preparations and build-up events.
We then take the event and sponsor’s artwork and use our 3D technology to transform the images into stencils to be painted on the grass as a beautiful and eye-catching reproduction for TV.
It is the professionalism of our service, as well as the end-result of our 3D pitch painting, that lets our clients and their sponsors know that they are in safe hands.
