Rugby World Cup 2011
New Zealand enjoy financial bonus from 2011 RWC
ESPN Staff
May 30, 2012
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw lifts the Webb Ellis Cup, New Zealand v France, Rugby World Cup Final, Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, October 23, 2011
Organisers of the 2011 Rugby World Cup hope that the tournament will have long term benefits to the country © Getty Images
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The organising committee of the 2011 Rugby World Cup has announced that the financial impact of hosting the tournament was not as serious as initially feared.

Rugby New Zealand 2011, which was set up as a joint venture between the New Zealand Rugby Union and New Zealand government to organise the tournament said that the total loss of NZ$31.3million (£15 million)was NZ$8million (£3.8million) less than predicted.

"This is a very satisfying way to wrap up the tournament," RNZ 2011 chairman Brian Roche said. "Very few global sporting events ever come in on budget. RWC 2011 was an extremely challenging event to deliver, of a scale and complexity never staged in this country so to deliver a significantly better than expected result is an extraordinary achievement. We were resolute in our drive to contain costs and achieve our ticket sales target despite the challenging environment we found ourselves in so this result is a real tribute to the team at RNZ 2011."

The NZRU invested NZ$10m (£4.8million) in the World Cup and the same amount to the redevelopment of Eden Park. It also had to contend with the disruption caused by the Canterbury earthquakes that forced seven matches to be moved to other venues six months before the tournament began.

There is further hope in New Zealand that the financial benefits of staging the tournament will be felt in years to come.

"Without a doubt, RWC 2011 will generate significant economic benefits for this country for many years to come," Rugby World Cup minister Murray McCully said. "We welcomed 133,000 visitors to our shores and we were superb hosts for a great six week celebration. The huge television audiences and extensive media coverage generated by the tournament boosted our international profile. We also forged valuable new business partnerships and showed the world we are a smart and innovative economy capable of delivering major global events."

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