Bok test figures back World Cup windfall claims

Estimates that Wellington stands to gain $45 million from the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off a year from today, are being supported by calculations that $9.3m was splurged on July's Springbok test in the city.

Wellington City Council World Cup and events director Derek Fry said a McDermott Miller economic impact report on the test highlighted how the city benefited from key sporting events.

The report – which provided information on who went to the city, how they got there, what else they did and what they thought about their experience – will be used in planning for the cup and another Tri-Nations test next year.

The study says that while 34,590 test tickets were sold, another 1200 people went to Wellington because of the game but did not go to the stadium.

"We know significant numbers of people are just coming for the atmosphere – that's really encouraging for us," Mr Fry said.

Of the spectators, 52 per cent came from outside the region, 7 per cent from overseas and 25 per cent from Wellington city.

The figures are substantially different from those reported in a similar study of the 1998 All Blacks-Springboks test, which found 39 per cent came from outside the Wellington region, 1 per cent overseas, and 37 per cent from Wellington city.

Most of the international spectators were tourists who took the opportunity to see the All Blacks in a world-class venue.

The average spectator was a 45-year-old man who went to 7.3 professional rugby games a year.

Positively Wellington Tourism chief executive David Perks said the test boosted hotel bookings in the city.

The $9.3m estimated for the Springbok test is well shy of the $15.6m in new spending estimated to have been generated by the 2008 NZI Sevens.

The study was based on surveys of spectators and corporate sponsors but did not include spending by local residents.

- © Fairfax NZ News