Capital in bid for cup finals

KENT BLECHYNDEN/The Dominion Post

FIELD OF DREAMS: Fran Wilde, Richard Taylor, Paul Collins, Kerry Prendergast and Greg Peters are driving Wellington's bid to host two Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

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Wellington will today launch its bid for a slice of the 2011 Rugby World Cup pie, potentially worth tens of millions of dollars to the city.

The bid to host two quarterfinals will be presented to Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden.

The 250-page document was firmly under cover in a black box yesterday, and the people behind the bid were keeping quiet on the details, citing competition with Christchurch and Auckland.

The three cities could compete for two quarterfinals each. Wellington Rugby chief executive Greg Peters said Rugby World Cup Ltd (a subsidiary of the International Rugby Board) had indicated it preferred "two by two quarterfinals".

Auckland is set to host the semifinals and final. Auckland's Eden Park and Christchurch's AMI Stadium will be upgraded before the world cup.

Councils in the Wellington region, Wellington Rugby, Wellington Regional Stadium Trust and Positively Wellington Tourism were involved in the bid. The brand "Absolutely Positively Right by Your Side" was created to support it.

Those involved believe Wellington's strengths are its infrastructure, compact size, a stadium that is "ready to go", and the city's history of hosting big events such as the rugby sevens, 2005 Lions rugby tour and the Lord of the Rings premiere. "We have a proven track record," Mr Peters said.

The city council would not say yesterday how much the quarterfinals would be worth to the city. But mayor Kerry Prendergast said: "It's a bigger event than the sevens and far more international." The 2008 sevens were worth $15.6 million to the city. Ms Prendergast said many people probably assumed the city would get the quarterfinals, without having to bid.

Oscar-winner Richard Taylor, of Weta Workshop, was on hand to promote the bid yesterday. The mayor said Weta was involved "as part of the dressing of the city".

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust chairman Paul Collins said capacity at Westpac Stadium would not be an issue - there was room for extra temporary seating.

A poll of Wellington City residents found 95 per cent would back a bid, Ms Prendergast said.

Ratepayers were asked whether they would be willing to contribute but she would not give a figure on how much they were willing to spend.

The decision on quarterfinal venues will be made in September.

- © Fairfax NZ News