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Christchurch leaders are eyeing a $50 million-plus 2011 Rugby World Cup payday, with the city hosting seven teams – including heavyweights England and Australia.

Christchurch was the big winner when the hosting arrangements for teams were announced yesterday, with England, Australia, Argentina, Scotland, Italy and two European qualifiers all to spend time in the city.

In total, Christchurch will host teams for 85 nights during the six-week tournament, with only a combined Auckland (57) and North Shore (29) doing better with 86 nights. Wellington will have teams for 64 nights.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said "the rugby gods have smiled on our city".

"We will be the city to be present in for the World Cup right up to the quarterfinals," he said.

Parker, who is chairing the Rugby World Cup 2011 Group, said it was estimated 60,000 tourists would visit New Zealand for the World Cup.

However, he believed the target should be more than 100,000.

"Given how many Aussies will visit, and the Barmy Army, we will have a fantastic crowd and the buildup we've dreamt of," he said.

"We should be looking to expect between 30,000 and 60,000 around the city; it will be fantastic."

Bryan Pearson, chief executive for venue manager Vbase, said the city could not have asked for better teams.

"It's a really exciting thing to have England and Australia and Argentina here for these extended periods, because it means we're more likely to see large volumes of fans," he said.

"It will have such a wonderful impact for the city, financially and socially."

Pearson said the one-off Lions test in 2005 brought $35m in spending to the city.

The benefits of having seven World Cup matches and three teams for an extended period should be more than $50m for Christchurch, he said.

The tournament was expected to inject $476m nationally.

Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism chief executive Christine Prince said she expected most visitors to pass through the city during the six weeks from September 9 to October 23.

She was confident the city could cope with the influx, with beds for 46,000 visitors available within an hour radius and a cruise ship moored at Lyttelton set to boost that by 2000 for the quarterfinals.

"It's such an opportunity ... for people that come to have a fantastic experience and get that word-of-mouth thing going," Prince said.

- © Fairfax NZ News