Ticket sales revenue for Rugby World Cup 2011
(RWC 2011) now totals NZ$200m (exc GST) which means Tournament Organiser
Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011) has now reached 75% of its revenue
target.
This reflects NZ$31 million of sales that have occurred over the last six weeks.
“This
is a significant milestone,” said RNZ 2011 CEO Martin Snedden. “It is a
great place to be with the final ticket phase beginning on Monday.
“Prior
to RWC 2011, the highest revenue-generating event in New Zealand’s
history was the 2005 British & Irish Lions Tour, which grossed
NZ$24m. As of today, we have achieved eight times the ticket revenue for
that event.
RNZ 2011 is forecasting total
sales revenue of NZ$268.5m based on expected ticket sales of 1.35m from
the 48 Tournament matches.
“We have now sold just over 900,000 tickets which underlines how popular this event is going to be.”
Recent
ticket sales have been driven by the resale of tickets to the eight
matches reallocated as a result of the Christchurch earthquake and
further offers of tickets to those who entered the ballots for the
semi-finals and Final, as well as further sales of travel and
hospitality packages.
“This coming Monday,
at 9am, the final phase of ticketing for RWC 2011 gets underway. We’re
urging fans to quickly take advantage of this sales period and secure
the seats they want to witness Rugby at its best.
“There will be tickets available for most matches other than the Final. This includes the semi-finals and the quarter-finals.
“For
most of the matches on sale Monday, there are still lots of tickets
available in the lowest priced seating categories. For more than half
the pool matches this means that fans can buy tickets for as little as
NZ$31 or NZ$41 and take their kids for half that price.
“This
could be the last time we will see the 20 best teams in the world
battling it out for the Webb Ellis Cup in our own backyard, so we hope
Kiwi fans in particular seize the opportunity to get ringside seats at
the biggest sporting event of 2011.”
Fans
can guarantee Finals tickets by purchasing Corporate Hospitality
Packages from Official Corporate Hospitality Agents or Travel Packages
from Official Travel Agents. For more information and a list of agents,
visit
www.rth2011.com.
“We
are expecting a strong response from fans when the final ticket phase
opens. As we saw in France in 2007 and Australia in 2003, many fans make
up their minds much closer to the Tournament so we are optimistic that
fans will respond in the same way.”
IRB
Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "This key announcement truly represents
the final countdown to the Tournament and I am sure that there will be
strong demand for tickets. RWC 2011 is on track to be a successful
Tournament that New Zealanders and the global Rugby family will be proud
of."
Source: rugbyworldcup.com
