YORK are eyeing hosting a match in New York as rugby league has another go at biting a chunk from the Big Apple.
The Knights are linking up with a similarly-named club on the other side of the Atlantic, which has been mothballed for five years.
Now chairman Clint Goodchild has revealed the aim of eventually having a pre-season match in the city that never sleeps.
And seeing Super League and NRL games in Las Vegas shows the Stateside interest is there.
He said: “We want to be able to go over there and help grow the profile of the sport on the ground.
“The ambition is to have a pre-season game there, much like we did with Hull KR in Amsterdam last year.
“It makes sense for me if we’re going to take a pre-season game overseas. We’ve got New York right there. It’ll be something great to do in a few years’ time.
“The east coast is definitely a logical approach for us.
MOST READ IN RUGBY LEAGUE
“We see it as something that we want to execute and we see the value in it, but when we do it, we want to be able to do it right.
“It’s not anywhere near that stage of saying, ‘We’re going to do it on this date, on this year, against this team.’
“There’s no doubt that New York’s the number one brand in the world, no matter what the sport is.
“So to have a presence for our game in the city, even though it’s at an amateur level, is an important thing.
“It aligns with a lot of ambitious stuff that the sport globally is looking to do over the next five to 10 years as well and we just want to play our part.”
Former York star Matt Duckworth, who is leading the project, believes this can be the start of something big as Super League sees matches played in Las Vegas.
He added: “We know this is going to take time and we’re comfortable with the organic growth timeline required. Our priority is building a true home for the Knights here in New York.
“Ultimately, we want to give more Americans the opportunity to experience rugby league on the world stage once they have the solid foundation we are committed to building.
“This partnership with York will grow into a true transatlantic pathway, reaching the wider rugby league audience globally — because if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.”
And ambitious Goodchild, who set the ball rolling about a year ago, wants more than one big splash in the Big Apple.
He added: “We want to make sure we’re a competitive team on the field, but that we’re highly involved in the community and becoming a part of the fabric of what makes New York such a special place.
“It’s as much about what we can do for the community as what they can do for us.
“But seeing the matches in Las Vegas has absolutely showed there is an interest in America for rugby league.”
