Atlanta Silverbacks Park is a sports complex in unincorporated DeKalb County, just outside Atlanta, United States that is currently used primarily for rugby. It was formerly the home venue of the Atlanta Silverbacks soccer club, from which the complex gets its name. It is also the home of the Atlanta Rhinos of USA Rugby League, Atlanta Renegades Rugby Club, and was previously used by Rugby ATL of Major League Rugby. The park includes a 5,000-seat soccer-specific stadium, which opened in 2006 and is designed for future expansion.
The Utah Warriors are a professional rugby union team that competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its first season in 2018. The team is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was founded in 2010 as Utah Warriors and re-refounded in 2017 by Rugby Utah Ventures.
Sports in San Diego includes one major professional sports team, other highest-level professional teams, minor league teams, and college athletics. The San Diego Padres play in Major League Baseball (MLB). San Diego FC begins play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2025. San Diego State Aztecs teams play in NCAA Division I (FBS). The Farmers Insurance Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Sports in Atlanta has a rich history, including the oldest on-campus NCAA Division I football stadium, Bobby Dodd Stadium, built in 1913 by the students of Georgia Tech. Atlanta also played host to the second intercollegiate football game in the South, played between the A&M College of Alabama and the University of Georgia in Piedmont Park in 1892; this game is now called the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The city hosts college football's annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the Peachtree Road Race, the world's largest 10 km race. Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics, and Downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park was built for and commemorates the games.
Major League Rugby is a professional rugby union competition for clubs in North America. In the 2023 season it was contested by twelve teams: eleven from the United States and one from Canada. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned by USA Rugby—a member union of Rugby Americas North (RAN)—and is consequently part of World Rugby. The league was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its first season in 2018. The SaberCats organization was born from one of the founding amateur rugby clubs that pooled resources to emerge professionally, and were the first in MLR membership to build a rugby-specific stadium intended for MLR competition.
Toronto Arrows R.F.C. was a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team was an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and was funded by a group of private investors and supporters. They are currently on hiatus following the 2023 season.
The Seattle Seawolves are an American professional rugby union team based in Tukwila, Washington. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby (MLR), the top-level rugby union competition in the United States that began play in 2018. The Seawolves won two MLR championships in 2018 and 2019, and lost in the 2022 final. They play at Starfire Sports, a 4,500-seat stadium in Tukwila that primarily serves soccer teams.
The New Orleans Gold, stylized as NOLA Gold, is a professional rugby union team based in New Orleans. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby. Since January 2020, French rugby power ASM Clermont Auvergne has owned a minority stake in the team.
The American Raptors are a professional rugby union team based in the municipality of Glendale in Colorado. The team plays in the transcontinental Super Rugby Americas competition. Established as the amateur "Glendale Raptors" in 2006, the team became a professional club upon joining Major League Rugby as a founding member in 2017, but they played there only three years, competing as the "Colorado Raptors" in their final shortened season of 2020 before withdrawing from the league.
The San Diego Legion are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR), based in San Diego, California. The Legion began play in the league's inaugural 2018 season. The team plays their home games at Snapdragon Stadium.
Rugby New York, originally known as Rugby United New York and officially nicknamed the Ironworkers, was a professional rugby union team based in New York City that was a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). The team played an exhibition season in spring 2018 and joined MLR for its second full season in 2019. The team was founded by James Kennedy.
The New England Free Jacks are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) based in the Greater Boston area. They were announced in September 2018 and began to compete professionally in October 2018. They competed in their first season in MLR in the 2020 season. On July 8, 2023, they became the MLR Champions for the 2023 season, after defeating San Diego Legion in a closely fought match.
Old Glory DC RFC is a professional rugby union team based in the Washington, D.C., area that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). Old Glory was founded in 2018, played some exhibition games in 2019, and began regular-season MLR play in 2020.
The 2020 Major League Rugby season was the third season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season schedule was released on September 23, 2019, and the regular season itself began on February 8, 2020.
The LA Giltinis were a Major League Rugby team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. The team was announced in 2020 and entered the league in the 2021 season as an expansion franchise. Owned by Adam Gilchrist and Loyals Rugby, the team was named for a yet-to-be-released drink, itself a portmanteau of "Gilchrist" and "martini". The Giltinis were based in El Segundo, California, and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Darren Coleman was their first head coach.
The 2021 Major League Rugby season was the fourth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on March 20, 2021.
The 2021 Major League Rugby final was the third Major League Rugby championship match, held at the conclusion of the 4th season of the rugby union club competition in North America. It was played on August 1, 2021, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, between the LA Giltinis and Rugby ATL.
The 2022 Major League Rugby season was the fifth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on February 5, 2022.
The 2022 Major League Rugby final was the fourth Major League Rugby (MLR) championship match, held at the conclusion of the 5th season of the rugby union club competition in North America. The match was played on June 25, 2022, at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. It was the first MLR Final to be held in New Jersey as all previous MLR Finals were played in California. Rugby New York emerged victorious over the Seattle Seawolves by a score of 30-15.
