Irb Revises Rwc Tournament Fee
The International Rugby Board has revised the minimum revenue level it requires host nations to deliver in staging the Rugby World Cup in 2015 from £100m to £80m in a bid to make the bidding process more competitive.
The IRB announced that it had taken the decision in light of the current economic environment and subsequent feedback from the nine Member Unions who have registered an interest in hosting the tournament which include all of the four home nations.
The re-evaluation also includes a downsizing of the minimum tournament fee for the Rugby World Cup in 2019 from £120m to £96m – a bidding process that is being undertaken concurrently with that of the tournament four years earlier.
Whilst the tournament fees have been reduced the IRB was quick to point out that the figures are the lowest level of expectation and it still believes that the tournament has the potential to earn much more – a potential that is likely to be reflected in the various bid documents.
IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset commented: ‘The IRB Council has agreed that the minimum tournament fee for 2015 be reduced to £80m from £100m and that the minimum tournament fee for 2019 be reduced to £96m from £120 m. The IRB has also agreed to incentivise the Host Unions by building in a profit share formula for any tournament surplus it generates that exceeds the minimum guarantee.
‘We are still looking to achieve a tournament fee of £100m from 2015 and £120m from 2019. The revised minimum requirements are just that, minimums. There is nothing to prevent one Union bidding the minimum guarantee of £80m for RWC 2015 and another bidding £100m.
‘That would lead to a very interesting decision making process next year when the host Unions for Rugby World Cup 2015 and 2019 will be decided in July.
‘A recent independent Deloitte report on the economic benefits of hosting Rugby World Cup highlighted the fact that it is one of, if not the most, cost effective major sports events in the world. RWC is estimated to have the potential to generate up to £2.1 billion in economic benefits while capital expenditure costs are among the lowest for an event of this magnitude.
‘These economic benefits make the tournament a major attraction to host. Of course an event as large as Rugby World Cup does require a certain level of financial underwriting upfront. We have been in constant touch with the nine tender Unions and have taken on board their comments on the current economic environment they are operating in.’
The IRB announced a record number of interested parties in hosting the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and will be keen to ensure the bidding process does not endure the criticism the governing body received for handing the hosting rights to the 2011 tournament to New Zealand.
