 Rugby World Cup 2011 New Zealand Be part of the stadium of four million and experience a uniquely New Zealand rugby festival when the 2011 Rugby Word Cup comes to Wellington, New Zealand. See below for venue announcements. The International Rugby Board has announced the match schedule for the seventh Rugby World Cup, to be played in New Zealand from Friday 9 September to Sunday 23 October 2011. The Rugby World Cup will be the largest global sporting event in 2011 and will kick off in Auckland when the host Nation New Zealand plays Tonga in a Pool A match. The 48 matches that comprise the Tournament are scheduled across 13 venues in 13 cities: Auckland, North Shore (Auckland), Whangarei, Hamilton, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill. Rugby World Cup in Wellington Wellington is to host seven World Cup matches at Westpac Stadium in Thorndon, renamed Wellington Regional Stadium for the event. Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast is delighted with the number and selection of matches allocated to the Capital during Rugby World Cup 2011. “Seven matches – including two quarter-finals – is a great result for Wellington and the Stadium. I’m sure local rugby fans, along with the region’s hoteliers and the hospitality industry in general, will be happy and relieved that we’ve got a genuine fair share of the Rugby World Cup action.” Wellington will host the defending cup holders South Africa against Wales in the first big game in the capital on Sunday 11 September 2011. Along with the All Blacks, Wellington will host pool matches featuring the Springboks, Wales, Fiji, Australia, Tonga and qualifiers from the Americas. The weekend before the quarter-finals will also be a blockbuster – with France-Tonga on the Saturday and the All Blacks versus an Americas qualifier on the Sunday. This double-header will kick off a festival week in the Capital leading up to the quarters. The council will be pulling out all the stops to make sure fans have a memorable stay in the Capital. All matches in Wellington will also be over the weekends, which is good for crowd numbers and will give fans time to recover. The Wellington City Council estimates pool games would generate up to $21 million for the local economy. The council's economic development and recreation portfolio leader, John Morrison, said hosting the All Blacks would be special for the city. Mr Morrison said the city would be transformed for the World Cup. "We are keen on making Wellington a party zone for the tournament, like we do for the rugby sevens." Rugby World Cup Schedule - Wellington Matches Date - Match Number - Pool - Teams - Location Sun 11 Sept 8 D - South Africa v Wales Wellington Sat 17 Sept 15 D - South Africa v Fiji Wellington Fri 23 Sept 23 C - Australia v Americas 2 Wellington Sat 1 Oct 35 A - France v Tonga Wellington Sun 2 Oct 38 A - New Zealand v Americas 1 Wellington Sat 8 Oct 41 - QF1: W Pool C v RU Pool D Wellington Sun 9 Oct 43 - QF3: W Pool D v RU Pool C Wellington 2011 Rugby World Cup Pools Pool A: New Zealand, France, Tonga, Americas 1, Asia 1 Pool B: Argentina, England, Scotland, Europe 1, Play Off Winner Pool C: Australia, Ireland, Italy, Europe 2, Americas 2 Pool D: South Africa, Wales, Fiji, Oceania 1, Africa 1 The first match of Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) will kick off in New Zealand on Friday 9 September 2011. The Final, Bronze Final and both semi-finals will be played at Eden Park in Auckland. The two venues and the quarter-final matches they will host have also been confirmed. Wellington will host Quarter-final 1 (winner Pool C versus runner-up Pool D) and Quarter-final 3 (winner Pool D versus runner-up Pool C) while Christchurch will host Quarter-final 2 (winner Pool B versus runner-up Pool A) and Quarter-final 4 (winner Pool A versus runner-up Pool B). In addition, the dates for the final weekend, which coincides with Labour Day, have been confirmed with the Bronze Final to take place on Friday October 21 at Eden Park, followed by the Final on Sunday October 23 at the same venue. New Zealanders can brace themselves for some late nights at the 2011 Rugby World Cup with some 9pm kick-offs, including the tournament final at Eden Park. Martin Snedden, CEO of Rugby New Zealand 2011, confirmed that 9pm and 8.30pm starts would be used along with the traditional evening New Zealand times of 7.30pm. Afternoon rugby will also feature with 10 of the 48 matches scheduled to be played with kickoffs ranging from 1pm to 3pm. Ticketing Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd (RNZ 2011) is in the process of developing the ticketing strategy for RWC 2011. It expects to be in a position to present the strategy for approval to Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) in early 2009, and anticipates releasing the strategy towards the end of 2009 with on-sale date yet to be determined. Ticket prices will be established during the strategy development. RNZ 2011 faces the dual challenges of maximizing revenue yet ensuring the tournament remains accessible to New Zealanders and international supporters. Ticket pricing will reflect the stature of the tournament as the biggest sporting event in the world in 2011. Wellington and Christchurch To Host World Cup 2011 Quarters Wellington and Christchurch are set to be named today as the venue for the quarterfinals at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The decision, which was to be rubber-stamped by the International Rugby Board in Dublin last night, will give a huge boost to the Wellington, bringing about $24 million into the region. But it could cost the New Zealand Rugby Union about $10 million in lost gate revenue because Wellington's Westpac Stadium and AMI Stadium in Christchurch, venue for the other two quarterfinals, are smaller than Auckland's Eden Park. There were bids from five cities for the quarterfinals, the others being Hamilton, North Shore and Auckland. The semifinals and final, and possibly the playoff for third, will be at Eden Park. The World Cup is expected to record a $30 million loss but that has been underwritten by the Government. Martin Snedden, chief executive of the NZRU's Rugby World Cup 2011 Ltd, would not say who would host the quarter-finals but said if Auckland had missed out, any financial losses could be contained. The rugby union campaigned for the World Cup on the basis that it would be a tournament showcased in a stadium of four million people, and Snedden said that promise was important. "In a best-case scenario there is a financial difference if you include Auckland and it's certainly been one of the things my board have thrashed out. But we have also made no secret of our desire to spread the tournament throughout New Zealand, so it's a balancing act." Tickets prices are yet to be set, but Snedden has said previously that they were "going to be far more expensive than what we've seen previously" - and that could price premium covered seats at the final at up to $1000. IRB chief executive Mike Miller said this week that it was his "clear and strong preference" that Auckland and one other city host the quarterfinals. "It makes sense on many levels. The most important reason is financial. It's far more affordable to use two cities instead of three. And it's easier from an operational standpoint." In previous World Cups, however, four of the six tournaments have used four cities for the quarterfinals. Last year's games were played in Marseille, Cardiff and Paris. Only in Australia in 2003 were two cities used - Brisbane and Melbourne. Wellington is confident it can produce enough money at Westpac Stadium, as temporary seating can boost capacity from 34,500 to just over 40,000. About 25,000 of those seats are under cover so a premium can be charged on the tickets. Eden Park, which is having a Government-funded $190 million redevelopment, will have a capacity of 60,000; about half of those seats could be under cover. Though the IRB had the power to reject Rugby World Cup 2011 Ltd's recommendation last night, Snedden was confident it would not. "We have done a lot of legwork on this and worked with them beside us so they have been kept in the loop. "Had we thought we were going down the wrong path we would have known before now." He confirmed representatives from all five bids would be in Wellington for the Olympic-style announcement at 3.15pm. Those involved in the bids said yesterday that they had not been tipped off. The Front Row Rugby Club - Join Up Now! http://www.newzealand.com/frontrowrugbyclub/  Giant NZ Rugby Ball To Host World Cup Draw WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A giant New Zealand rugby ball will host the draw for the 2011 Rugby World Cup on December 1, the chief executive of the tournament organisers said on Friday. The New Zealand Tourism 'ball', which is 12 metres tall and 25 metres long, will be stationed next to London's Tower Bridge from November 25 until December 2 this year. The ball was used by Tourism New Zealand as part of a marketing campaign in Paris during last year's World Cup, where it was positioned near the Eiffel Tower and received more than 24,000 visitors. "It makes sense (for the draw to be held in the ball)," Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden told a function at New Zealand's Parliament Buildings on Friday. "A lot of the northern and southern hemisphere teams are gathered together at that stage to play games against each other, so if you like the elite of the rugby fraternity are there to support this event." FIVE TEAMS Snedden said the draw would have 20 teams divided into four pools of five teams based on the International Rugby Board's (IRB) rankings. "For the first time at a World Cup the seedings and pools will be constructed around the IRB's world rankings," Snedden said. "The cut-off date will be midnight on November 30, which is just after the All Blacks play England at Twickenham. "I think this is something that is new and has an air of unpredictability about it will create excitement amongst the international rugby media." New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said the ball would be a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand as a tourism destination and the 2011 World Cup. "From the reaction we got from Paris last year, the ball is a great way for a small country to get a reaction," Clark said. "Estimates show that around 138 million people either saw or heard about the ball and its connection with New Zealand and that is invaluable exposure for our country." Clark said the 2011 World Cup was estimated to bring in NZ$500 million (190 million pounds) to the New Zealand economy, with about half of it being spent in the largest city of Auckland, which is hosting both semi-finals and the final. Wellington Calls for 2011 Rugby World Cup Final Acting Wellington Mayor Alick Shaw today called on the Government to look south of the Bombay Hills for a stadium to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. "We already have the magnificent Westpac Stadium on our waterfront which would cost a lot less than $350 million to extend," Acting Mayor Alick Shaw says. Cr Shaw was responding to World Cup Minister Trevor Mallard's announcement last night that the Government was evaluating downtown sites in Auckland in addition to the proposed Eden Park redevelopment to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. "If the Government wants good proximity to transport hubs, hospitality facilities, hotels and the CBD, you couldn't do much better than Wellington which has all that, and more, on the doorstep of the Westpac Stadium," he says. "The Westpac Stadium has a fantastic atmosphere unrivalled by any other stadium, and Wellington has a reputation second to none in organising and hosting events. There is absolutely no reason why this final cannot be held in the Capital city. We would be delighted to host it," Cr Shaw says. Cr Shaw says the Lions Tour in 2005 was proof, if any was needed, that Wellington was the best city in which to host the World Cup final. "The Wellington part of the Lions Tour last year was by far the best with our hospitality industry pulling out all stops to ensure everyone had a great time. And everyone did. It proved that Wellington has got what it takes to host an international rugby game and the hospitality to match."
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