Hire purchase for Rugby World Cup tickets

Tickets for the Rugby World Cup play-offs are going to be so expensive organisers plan to sell some on hire purchase.

RNZ 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden says he hopes that paying in instalments for tickets tipped to cost more than $1000 from the semi-final stage onwards "will make it easier for fans who can't pay all at once".

He also revealed the sale of tickets for the final will be bundled with pool games, putting the all-inclusive price for a ticket to the Eden Park fixture beyond the reach of most fans.

The exact asking price won't be revealed until next year when sales are tipped to begin. However, a Treasury paper, marked confidential and released to the Sunday Star-Times under the Official Information Act, has given the strongest indication yet of prices.

The report, written at the request of RWC Minister Murray McCully, suggests fans will have to pay as much as $500 to watch the All Blacks play their crunch pool match against France, and twice that for tickets for the semi-finals onwards.

In recent months, sources have confirmed, rugby officials have become increasingly anxious about their potential liability. The tournament is tipped to lose $30 million, two-thirds of which will be covered by the taxpayer and the rest by the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Empty stadiums would result in a much larger loss and in its report Treasury warns that for every 10 percent change in the ticket prices, $30m would be added to the final deficit.

"A 10 percent price change could either double the tournament's forecast loss, or eliminate it entirely. A 20 percent price change could either triple the loss to $90m or result in a $30m profit."

- © Fairfax NZ News