Newcastle Falcons to host Saracens in Philadelphia next season

Premiership Rugby has confirmed that Newcastle Falcons will host double European Champions Saracens in Philadelphia during the next season of Aviva Premiership.

The clash which has been scheduled on 16th September will take place at the home of Soccer club Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium.

This will also be Mark McCall men's second trip to America, after previously playing London Irish at Red Bull Arena during the 2015/16 season.

Newcastle managing director Mick Hogan believes the concept will benefit the club commercially while also helping them extending the fan base outside the country.

"This is an exciting opportunity which is commercially very good for the club, and enables us to further invest in our squad and in the stadium facilities at Kingston Park.

"It will allow us to grow Newcastle Falcons' brand, likewise for Premiership Rugby, and it presents a number of very positive commercial opportunities

"We do appreciate some of our supporters will be disappointed by one of our regular home games being moved. We will be in touch with season ticket members and corporate sponsors directly to inform them of our compensatory offers."

Saracens chief executive Heath Harvey insists such contests will help the game flourish in the United States.

"Our recent experiences in the USA show that there's a strong appetite for our game across the Atlantic, and Saracens are very keen to do what we can to continue to grow the game of rugby in the United States."

The game will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom and US, with NBC Sports screening it Stateside.

Premiership Rugby chief executive Mark McCafferty expressed his delight on the competition expanding globally.

"This season has marked a huge expansion of Premiership Rugby globally.

"After a series of new overseas TV rights deals, Premiership Rugby - and this match included - is now being broadcast in over 200 countries, reaching more than 170 million households around the world."