STADIA
Below: The Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin has a completely covered roof. Right: The new-look Eden Park in Auckland
In 2006, the organisers revealed that total economic activity from the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand would total more than NZ$1.15bn (£600m)
confirm that it meets international rugby union standards. However, Davies remains confident about the outcome: “At the mo- ment, we can put our hand on our heart and say it’s going pretty well. We’re doing our tests on a regular basis and the results are looking good.”
OPERATIONAL ISSUES Two fixtures originally scheduled for Christchurch are coming to Dunedin, with one – Scotland v Georgia – moved away from Dunedin to ease pressure on the venue. The two coming to the city will see England take on Argentina and Georgia on 10 and 18 September respectively. Not that the prospect of 10,000 England supporters concerns Davies. “We will probably use the same method of management for all four games,” he explains. “The biggest difference is that with England comes at least 10,000 fans – the second largest in this competition. As a result of that, we end up with some significant challenges . “We’ve had internationals down here
on a regular basis, but the number of people who come from outside Otago is about 5 per cent – so between 1,000- 2,000 people. For this event, England – plus Argentina’s contingent, which is 13,000 altogether – means that at least 40 per cent of visitors are coming from out of town. The issues for the city are how you handle that many out-of-towners.” With three England fixtures followed
by Italy v Ireland, Davies says Dunedin is lucky in that the same approach can be
applied throughout the four games. The stadium and its flow has been designed to accommodate 30,000 sup- porters, so there has been no need for additional overlay in terms of catering and merchandise provision. Temporary seating will support the two
ends of the stadium during the World Cup. And while there are 12 perma- nent food and beverage outlets in total, temporary catering provision will also be provided too. Regarding the tourna- ment’s media requirements, Davies agrees with Tracy Morgan that the stadium will be expecting some unique demands. “The media numbers are around 500,
which is more than any other event,” Da- vies says. “As a result, the overlay of one of the stadium areas set aside for office use is where the media will be housed. It’s in this location where the most technical element of the event hosting will take place.” Once RWC 2011 is over, Dunedin will be
left with a signature international venue for various team sports – although its rect- angle design means that cricket will not be one of its future uses. However, Davies believes that the stadium will have the ability to draw people back after the tournament, with supporters’ closeness to the pitch (10m/33ft from the upper tier to the sideline) seen as a key appeal. “We’ve looked at the stock of stadi-
ums around the country and they’re well managed and represent a wide spectrum of age and layout. The three predomi- nant ones – Eden Park, Wellington and,
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until recently, Christchurch – are ovals, which could house cricket as well as rugby,” Davies says. “This stadium is a rectangle and is built for team sports without cricket,” he says. “The proximity to the field for inter-
national rugby is going to be the single biggest selling point for us and we be- lieve it is this key factor that will bring people back in significant numbers.”
STAGE NOW SET RNZ 2011 was incorporated on 30 June 2006 to oversee the planning and deliv- ery of the event. Nearly six years later, efforts to fulfil the bid promise of a “Sta- dium of Four Million” and an “All Rugby” experience are now nearing fruition. Eden Park, Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadi- um and other Rugby World Cup venues, are now making final preparations, with International Rugby Board and Rugby World Cup chair Bernard Lapasset declar- ing that the stage has now been set. “The stadia are ready, the supporting
infrastructure is ready, the Team 2011 volunteers are ready, ticket sales are on track and hosting will deliver long-lasting benefits for New Zealand and New Zea- land Rugby,” says Lapasset. “The anticipation is palpable and as
we count down to the opening match at Eden Park, I have no doubt that fans attending RWC 2011 will have an excep- tional experience. “ ●
Pete Hayman is a Leisure Media journalist Issue 3 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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