BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

The NRL’s historic double header in Las Vegas is headed toward 50,000 fans within Allegiant Stadium when South Sydney, Manly, Sydney and Brisbane clash on Sunday Sydney time.

ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys revealed on Monday that paid ticket sales had pushed passed 33,000.

There is an expectation that a few thousand additional tickets will be sold prior to the game’s kicking off with several more thousand ‘comp’ tickets to be given to local media outlets and possibly even schools in the surrounding regions.

Many more amateur American rugby league clubs will also be in Las Vegas for different events in the lead-up to the NRL headline act and tickets possibly given out to them as well.

While filling out the empty seats with free tickets is not ideal, reaching roughly 35,000 paid tickets for the first year of a five-year deal in a brand-new market is very impressive.

“It’s come so quickly and there’s still so many things to do,” V’landys told Channel 7 before flying out of Sydney Airport.

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“I’m excited but at the same time very nervous.

“Naturally it’s a big gamble, it’s a big risk for the game, and there’s a lot of things that could go wrong.

“This has unlimited potential, especially financially. It could generate tens of millions if not hundreds of millions over a period of time.”

In comparison, professional wrestling companies like WWE and AEW will offer ‘comp’ tickets to the majority of their events when they are unable to “sell out” their events and is common practice across most sports.

The game will be available in the American market to upwards of 100,000,000 viewers with both matches being played live on Fox Sports 1.

@woodward_curtis