Snedden Predicts 2011 Rugby World Cup Defecit

New Zealand's Rugby World Cup chief Martin Snedden is expecting a NZ$30 million loss on the 2011 tournament.
Snedden, Chief Executive of Rugby New Zealand 2011 Limited (RNZ 2011), the New Zealand Rugby Union and the New Zealand Government joint venture that is organising rugby's showpiece event, has admitted the final figure could be even greater given the global financial downturn and the fact New Zealand's sole revenue stream for the event is from the sale of tickets.
RNZ 2011 has a revenue target of NZ$280 million, almost nine times greater than the amount generated from the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour.
At a ceremony in Hamilton to mark two years out from the kick-off of the opening match between New Zealand and Tonga in Auckland, Snedden explained "we're taking a bit of a step into the unknown, if you think about the Lions tour at NZ$32 million being the highest grossing event in New Zealand and we're trying to do NZ$280 million that's a huge difference.
"There has to be a degree of uncertainty into what will happen in that area. We hope that we've got the best balance we can get in terms of ticket pricing and the way in which it will be distributed.
"But in the end it won't be until we're live that we're really going to know the answer to that. The budget still stands around NZ$30 million but undoubtedly it's under a bit of pressure."
Snedden concedes the price of tickets, which will be announced in November, will shock many Kiwi fans, but he argued they were reflective of prices at the 2007 World Cup in France.
The average price for quarter-finals then was NZ$350, semi-finals NZ$600 and the final NZ$800.
Snedden added, âthey are pretty significant prices and people will have to take a bit of a deep breath and work out whether they can afford it.
"But they are the sort of prices that were being charged in France in 2007 and not much different to Australia in 2003.
"It's a bit of a different market place, but, having said that, at the time of those matches is the time when we will have most of our international visitors so they won't be too fazed by that sort of pricing."
Snedden estimates 1.2 millon of the 1.7 million tickets available over the 48 matches will end up in the hands of New Zealanders.

With the sale of tickets making up the total revenue for RNZ 2011, the International Rugby Board, through Rugby World Cup Limited, generate the bulk of the remainder of their revenue from sponsorship deals and the sale of broadcast rights.

Broadcasting deals are in place in New Zealand, South Africa, France, Italy, Ireland, South America and Japan.

But IRB and RWC Limited Chief Executive Mike Miller recently told Press Association Sport that a deal with the major British broadcaster had yet to be finalized, stating âthe UK deal is obviously a big one and how that goes will be crucial to the amount of money we have to invest in the game over the next four-year period.

"We're investing NZ $100 million over the next four years in 116 unions. Everything we make goes back into the unions so my job is to get as much money as we can so we can invest in the game."

Given the size of New Zealand, Miller admitted it was unlikely the country would host another Rugby World Cup on its own in the future, adding âin a country which has an economy market that is based on a market of four million people, it's difficult.

"This is now the third largest sporting event in the world. I think it will certainly be a long time before something like the Rugby World Cup comes to New Zealand (again). I don't know, but I think it may be difficult."

Miller added "we don't make decisions solely n finance. We knew because the stadiums are smaller for instance, and because it's not in the best possible time zone for European television where we make our most money on our television deals, that we'd make a bit less money here than we did in France.

"But money isn't the be all and end all, (Ne