Aviva Stadium for Heineken Cup 2013 Final

funky penguin

http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/23280.php

Will definitely get early tickets for this.

ournament organisers, ERC, announced today that the Heineken Cup final will be returning to Dublin in 2013, following the selection of the Aviva Stadium as the venue for European rugby's 18th showpiece occasion.
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The Heineken Cup final was last held in Dublin in 2003 when Toulouse beat Perpignan 22-17 at Lansdowne Road although since then the stadium, both old and new, has staged an array of classic European contests.

Only last season on their march to a second Heineken Cup final triumph, Leinster defeated both Leicester Tigers and Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium as attendances at the home of Irish rugby surpassed the 600,000 mark for European matches.

"The Aviva Stadium is a world class venue which has quickly established a close affinity with the Heineken Cup having staged three matches last season, including two magnificent knockout games," said ERC Chief Executive Derek McGrath.

"The Heineken Cup final has become one of the most prestigious sporting fixtures in the European calendar and it now requires long range planning in order to deliver the spectacle we enjoyed in Cardiff just over a fortnight ago.

"Last year we confirmed the final venues for the following two seasons, and today's announcement allows ERC to prepare the way for Dublin in 2013 while we continue to work with Twickenham Stadium on next season's final in May 2012.

"Ireland has provided four Heineken Cup champions in the past six seasons and Irish rugby is steeped in the history of the tournament since it began 16 years ago.

"The decision of the ERC Board to bring the Heineken Cup final back to Dublin for the first time since 2003 is further recognition of the passion that Irish fans have for the tournament and we are confident that our showpiece game in 2013 will be another landmark occasion in the history of Irish rugby and sport."

IRFU Chief Executive Philip Browne said: "The Aviva Stadium has hosted some memorable international and Heineken Cup games in its short lifetime and is now firmly embedded as the home of Irish rugby.

"We felt it was important for the stadium that it would get this opportunity to host the pinnacle game of European club rugby and this is not only good news for the game in this country, but also for Dublin.

"It is estimated that rugby contributes over €200m to the Irish economy, and the recent Ireland-England Six Nations game generated just over €51m to the Dublin economy.

"While the financial benefits are particularly strong, the prestige and exposure for the game in this country are just as powerful, and in hosting the first Heineken Cup final since 2003, I am sure that Irish rugby and the city of Dublin will deliver yet another memorable occasion."

Cllr Gerry Breen, Lord Mayor of Dublin, said: "We are looking forward to welcoming the finalists and fans to Dublin's Aviva Stadium in May 2013 for the Heineken Cup final.

"It will give us a great opportunity to showcase the many delights that are Dublin. I would like to congratulate the IRFU on being awarded the honour of hosting the final in the city of Dublin."

Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, said: "Dublin is ideally suited to hosting such a prestigious event. It is a city known for its warm welcome to visitors and will be a familiar destination for rugby supporters.

"I have no doubt that our proud sporting heritage, our knowledgeable and enthusiastic fan base, and our proven ability to successfully host major sporting events will guarantee a Heineken Cup final to remember.

"Rugby is an increasingly popular sport in Ireland. Irish rugby has enjoyed some great successes in recent times.

"Leinster's sensational comeback victory over Northampton Saints in last month's Heineken Cup final at the Millennium Stadium was the fourth time in the last six years that an Irish team has triumphed in Europe's top club competition.

"I believe that being afforded the privilege of hosting a Heineken Cup final in 2013 will be a fitting tribute to all those who have worked so diligently and so imaginatively to bring Irish rugby to its current level of success."

Stev_o

The only annoying thing is that it's the smallest stadium to be used for the HC for god knows how long.

GerM

Great stadium for the final....unless an Irish side gets there. Then it's going to need to be twice as big. Great news though. I'll be heading regardless. Makes a nice change to have it here.

totallegend

Stev_o wrote: »

The only annoying thing is that it's the smallest stadium to be used for the HC for god knows how long.

Since 2003 I suppose (Lansdowne Road, capacity 49,000)

LeeroyJones

Great news. Obviously attention will focus on the size of the stadium but it is state of the art and as a venue it is tremendous.
It's proximity to nearby bars and town offer a great atmosphere pre and post match. I used to take those sort of things for granted until I attended matches at Wembley and Stade de France.

justsomebloke

totallegend wrote: »

Since 2003 I suppose (Lansdowne Road, capacity 49,000)

and less then 30,000 went to that one

durkadurka

Thats a serious target for the irish teams to aim at.

I think I'll buy tickets regardless as soon as they come out

BTL

Just wait until the English clubs start moaning about Leinster getting a 'home final'...

durkadurka

They have a home final next year. sod them.

CatFromHue

looks like i'll be heading to my third heineken cup final so.

BTL

Assuming any english clubs get that far. I can't see any of them winning their pools this year. Leicester might sneak through second to Clermont (though I think ulster will run them close) and Gloucester/Quins might do the same in Toulouse's group (I hope they don't, mind), after that though, I can see them going out in the quarter finals.

dastardly00

quite surprised that the H Cup final will be in the Aviva.
Very small capacity compared to Twickenham, Murryfield, Millenium Stadium, Stade de France, I didn't think it would ever get to host a H Cup final.
Great news for the IRFU, Irish rugby fans and the local economy.

lobber

Rugbyworldmag are moaning on twitter that it shouldn't be in Dublin but the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona!!!
They don't elaborate on why, but wouldn't agree with that at all.

bamboozle

lobber wrote: »

Rugbyworldmag are moaning on twitter that it shouldn't be in Dublin but the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona!!!
They don't elaborate on why, but wouldn't agree with that at all.

spread the game and the HC further afield, wouldnt mind going to a final in Barcelona or Rome some day, i'll settle for watching Leinster win their 3 in a row at Lansdowne 2 years from now....

Gracelessly Tom

BTL wrote: »

Assuming any english clubs get that far. I can't see any of them winning their pools this year. Leicester might sneak through second to Clermont (though I think ulster will run them close) and Gloucester/Quins might do the same in Toulouse's group (I hope they don't, mind), after that though, I can see them going out in the quarter finals.

What has next season's H Cup group placings got to do with the 2013 final?

Personally, I think you're wrong on Leicester next season. They have European pedigree, Clermont will struggle against them and Ulster won't run them close.

ArmaniJeanss

dastardly00 wrote: »

quite surprised that the H Cup final will be in the Aviva.
Very small capacity compared to Twickenham, Murryfield, Millenium Stadium, Stade de France, I didn't think it would ever get to host a H Cup final.
Great news for the IRFU, Irish rugby fans and the local economy.

I think its OK capacity wise - For Leinsters two finals in Murrayfield and Cardiff there were lots of available tickets, I was being offered them in work and in the pub despite only being a TV fan who'd rarely go to a match.

So I think the Aviva will be fine for the 'real fan' - there just won't be an excess dripping further down the food chain.

Would definitely like to see the final go to Rome and Barcelona in the future though.

Gracelessly Tom

I agree, I think Rome and Barcelona (any chance of the Nou Camp??:)) would be amazing for the final.

As for the Aviva in 2013, BOD retires that season, what a way for him to sign off with Leinster, surely it's written in the stars??

Winters

Gracelessly Tom wrote: »

I agree, I think Rome and Barcelona (any chance of the Nou Camp??:)) would be amazing for the final.

Seeing as the FIR dont actually own the Flamino themselves they could choose anywhere in Italy to hold it. The San Siro would be a fantastic venue too. Italy havent hosted the final yet and they had the All Blacks in the San Siro for the Autumn Internationals last. The Serie A normally finishes before the HC final so there should be no clash.

thunderthing

Kinda seems about time really.. With only 6 nations in the Heineken Cup, it shouldn't have taken 10 years for it to get to Ireland..

Careful Now

Would have been awesome to have it in Croake Park. Maybe some day they'll open it up to that or try get Champions League final. The stadium deserves a massive European event. Aviva is class but just doesn't have enough capacity.

Gracelessly Tom

thundercunt wrote: »

Kinda seems about time really.. With only 6 nations in the Heineken Cup, it shouldn't have taken 10 years for it to get to Ireland..

The reason for the big gap was due to the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road, can't have a final on a building site!

wixfjord

Delira with this, and it's a guarantee to be sold out ages before the finalists are announced I'd say.

If Munster or Leinster get to the final should be a great occasion. There's so much more life to Lansdowne than the likes of Stade De France, Twickers, Wembely or even Murrayfield, all of which are a fair bit out from the city centre.

Have to say, Millennium Stadium was the most impressive I've ever been to though, it has the whole package, unlike Wembely which is in the middle of nowhere, but is an amazing stadium too.

ArmaniJeanss

Careful Now wrote: »

Would have been awesome to have it in Croake Park. Maybe some day they'll open it up to that or try get Champions League final. The stadium deserves a massive European event. Aviva is class but just doesn't have enough capacity.

Never going to happen (Champions League in Croke Pk). There are 15+ 5star soccer stadiums in Europe queueing up to host it, all of them willing to hire themselves out to UEFA for nothing. (Also because technically any bid would have to come via the FAI there's no reason why a bid will ever even be made).

As for the H-Cup, if Ireland are only going to get it say once every 7/8/9 years then it should always be the Aviva imo.
If we were hosting it once every 3 years or something then maybe Croke Pk might come into play.

BoarHunter

thundercunt wrote: »

Kinda seems about time really.. With only 6 nations in the Heineken Cup, it shouldn't have taken 10 years for it to get to Ireland..

last time it was due to Ireland they gave it to the millenium in Cardiff becasue Lansdown was not usable

ScubaSteve00

LeeroyJones wrote: »

Obviously attention will focus on the size of the stadium but it is state of the art and as a venue it is tremendous.
It's proximity to nearby bars and town offer a great atmosphere pre and post match.

Fair enough it does have the whole atmosphere going for it but as a state of the art stadium...no where near. Agree with many of the sentiments above i relation to the HC Final spreading its wings. Would be great for the game

justsomebloke

lobber wrote: »

Rugbyworldmag are moaning on twitter that it shouldn't be in Dublin but the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona!!!

Have to say that is a daft idea, Italy should get it before they even think of going to spain with it.

JustinDee

ScubaSteve00 wrote: »

Fair enough it does have the whole atmosphere going for it but as a state of the art stadium...no where near

Player facilities, medical facilities, media facilities, power and water infrastructure, pitch, etc all most definitely "state-of-the-art".

Podge_irl

The size aside, Lansdowne is a brilliant stadium.

LeeroyJones

ScubaSteve00 wrote: »

Fair enough it does have the whole atmosphere going for it but as a state of the art stadium...no where near. Agree with many of the sentiments above i relation to the HC Final spreading its wings. Would be great for the game

Woah, aside from being small - in comparison to other stadiums.... where does it fail to be state of the art??? Alex Ferguson claimed it be one of the best stadiums he'd been in - obviously there's an element of pandering to the crowd but he wouldn't say it if there was some truth in it!

I too agree that the HCup should be moved outside the boundaries of the 6 Nations or even into Italy!

ScubaSteve00

LeeroyJones wrote: »

Woah, aside from being small - in comparison to other stadiums.... where does it fail to be state of the art???

Not sure if any of ye have had the pleasure of being in the upper east or west stands where right in your eye line is this eye sore of a steel structure which definitely obstructs your view...queueing for toliets...queuing to get in the stadium...corridors where you can hardly turn a sweet in your mouth...and the tunnel under the dart station is an accident waiting to happen!!!

LeeroyJones

ScubaSteve00 wrote: »

Not sure if any of ye have had the pleasure of being in the upper east or west stands where right in your eye line is this eye sore of a steel structure which definitely obstructs your view...queueing for toliets...queuing to get in the stadium...corridors where you can hardly turn a sweet in your mouth...and the tunnel under the dart station is an accident waiting to happen!!!

I actually have had the pleasure of all those. That's clutching at straws in my opinion.
If you're going to an event that starts at a specific time and tens of thousands of people are going, then I suggest you should expect an element of queuing. Whether or not you think the queues are acceptable or not is up to the individual. However in my 6 or 7 experiences (All upper tier both east and west) I have found entry to the stadium and access to my seat relatively stress free, while using the facilities and getting pint in the meantime.
I was at the very very back once and I know what people are saying about the steel structures, but again I feel it's over stated.

Conchir

ScubaSteve00 wrote: »

Not sure if any of ye have had the pleasure of being in the upper east or west stands where right in your eye line is this eye sore of a steel structure which definitely obstructs your view...

I agree, but only if you want a view of the opposite stand. Surely you'll be watching the pitch, which isn't obstructed.

Sangre

The issue with having the final outside an established rugby nation is that you need to guarantee a minimum number of local fans at the match, regardless of the teams in attendance. You'd want to be able to say X amount will go, no matter who is in final. For example, in Ireland you can estimate a certain level of attendance even before the HC kicks off. Might be hard for a Spanish stadium to guarantee that. Can't rely on travellings supporters to make up numbers if it is a trek away.

It's all about money, baby.

Big Nelly

Hey, is there any sort of option that allows you to book tickets if you have bought before? went to Cardiff and already booked into Twickenham for next year, I guess these tickets will be snapped up fast!!! is there a program out that allows you to buy for Aviva if you have bought for previous years????????

phog

Only about 20K tickets will go on general sale so anyone who really wants to be there would want to be hitting the purchase now button once they go on sale.

I hope the prices aren't hiked up to make up for the loss of capacity.

Podge_irl

I assume the tickets won't go on sale til aroundabout next year's final? That's the normal routine right?

Big Nelly

Podge_irl wrote: »

I assume the tickets won't go on sale til aroundabout next year's final? That's the normal routine right?

Went on sale this year the day after Heineken cup final win, was too busy celebrating in Cardiff to pick up the cheap 4 tickets for 100 quid:D

CatFromHue

i dont understand why people want the final to be in barcelona?

Chilli Con Kearney

I wonder if this means that the challenge cup final will be played in the RDS on the Friday night? Now that would be a rugby fan's dream weekend! No mention if it on the press release though.

[Jackass]

The tickets will sell out before the season even starts, with Leinster & Munster fans snapping them up in the hopes of a "home" final, and at worst a great day out.

One thing has been proven time and time again, us Irish like to buy tickets, early and often.

Probably the best rugby city in Europe, best atmosphere on match days (Edinburgh & Cardiff close behind, London, Paris and Rome not even close) and fantastic stadium, if way too small. It will be an amazing event and the first "proper" final in Ireland seeing as the last one was a complete flop with no atmosphere inside or outside the stadium, and the one before that was before the Heineken Cup really took off into the event it is now.

KingEnda

[Jackass] wrote: »

The tickets will sell out before the season even starts, with Leinster & Munster fans snapping them up in the hopes of a "home" final, and at worst a great day out.

One thing has been proven time and time again, us Irish like to buy tickets, early and often.

Probably the best rugby city in Europe, best atmosphere on match days (Edinburgh & Cardiff close behind, London, Paris and Rome not even close) and fantastic stadium, if way too small. It will be an amazing event and the first "proper" final in Ireland seeing as the last one was a complete flop with no atmosphere inside or outside the stadium, and the one before that was before the Heineken Cup really took off into the event it is now.

Agree with all that especially the too small bit (and too big for the other game)
If it is a Leinster V Munster final it will need to move to Croke Park a proper large stadium

JustinDee

KingEnda wrote: »

Agree with all that especially the too small bit (and too big for the other game)
If it is a Leinster V Munster final it will need to move to Croke Park a proper large stadium

It won't move. The final is set for the Aviva. Not Dublin and not any other venue.

copacetic

[Jackass] wrote: »

Probably the best rugby city in Europe, best atmosphere on match days (Edinburgh & Cardiff close behind, London, Paris and Rome not even close) and fantastic stadium, if way too small. It will be an amazing event and the first "proper" final in Ireland seeing as the last one was a complete flop with no atmosphere inside or outside the stadium, and the one before that was before the Heineken Cup really took off into the event it is now.

agreed, only issue is stadium is way too small. Dublin is much better for visiting fans than Edinburgh or Cardiff for flights/accom also. While still retaining the big game feel thats lost in the bigger cities.

LeeroyJones

CatFromHue wrote: »

i dont understand why people want the final to be in barcelona?

I suppose because of Camp Nou being arguably the best stadium in Europe. Also it's taking rugby outside of the 6 Nations but also keeping it within an area where there is an element of interest in rugby in Catalonia. Perpignan has some strong links with Barcelona so interest could be generated through that.

Barcelona, Milan or Rome, IMO, should be the next on the shortlist.

Tomtom364

Chilli Con Kearney wrote: »

I wonder if this means that the challenge cup final will be played in the RDS on the Friday night? Now that would be a rugby fan's dream weekend! No mention if it on the press release though.

Wouldnt the RDS be a bit small?
Maybe they will be looking at bringing it to Thomond?

ambid

[Jackass] wrote: »

...and fantastic stadium, if way too small...

Is the Aviva too small? Sure it's small compared to the Millennium or Twick or Murrayfield, but since it opened how often has the Aviva sold out for a soccer or rugby match?

Of course the 6N against France and England could have sold many thousands more and maybe a couple of Leinster matches could have sold a little more, but the rest of the matches either just about sold or were fairly well short of capacity. It's the same story for the soccer matches.

I think 50,000 is probably enough for all except a couple of matches a year, including the H-cup final. I'd rather a 50,000 stadium which is mostly full than the atmosphere free nightmare that is Croke Park for big GAA matches when they have 40,000 people rattling around an 80,000 stadium.

Tomtom364 wrote: »

Wouldnt the RDS be a bit small?
Maybe they will be looking at bringing it to Thomond?

I think RDS would be fine for the Amlin - actually I think they'd struggle to sell it. Thomond would be great and I'd love to see it there, but again they might struggle to sell it as local fans don't seem interested in it as a competition (based on forums I've read and no offense intended to Munster fans).

I'd suspect they'll have it in a different city this time as they seemed to struggle to sell Cardiff City Stadium from the pics I saw. Maybe it would be easier if they have it in a different city/ country this year than the Heineken cup final.

Tomtom364

Tomtom364 wrote: »

Wouldnt the RDS be a bit small?
Maybe they will be looking at bringing it to Thomond?

It really depends on who's playing tbh.

Looking at the attendances (which I hope are to improve due to the Heineken places) they have been seriously mixed bag.

Stade v Clermont Semifinal
Attendance: 6,712

Munster v Harlequins Semifinal
Attendance: 24,907

Harlequins v Stade Final
Attendance: 12,236

None of the quarters had an attendance greater than 9,000 either.

As an aside, and in a strange way this makes sense. But if Lansdowne Road was in another country, it would be a fine size for a Heineken Cup Final. But being in Ireland, and the way Irish provincial rugby has been going over the past 5/6 seasons, it's certainly too small for a Heineken Cup Final.

niceoneted

I wouldn't have gone to the amlin final if it wasn't for the fact that it was in Cardiff this year along with the Heineken Cup Final. We were going to the HC so got 4 tickets for it.
It is like link selling I would think.
Accommodation in Cardiff might have been a problem for some though.

Tomtom364

Deleted User wrote: »

It really depends on who's playing tbh.

Looking at the attendances (which I hope are to improve due to the Heineken places) they have been seriously mixed bag.

Stade v Clermont Semifinal
Attendance: 6,712

Munster v Harlequins Semifinal
Attendance: 24,907

Harlequins v Stade Final
Attendance: 12,236

None of the quarters had an attendance greater than 9,000 either.

As an aside, and in a strange way this makes sense. But if Lansdowne Road was in another country, it would be a fine size for a Heineken Cup Final. But being in Ireland, and the way Irish provincial rugby has been going over the past 5/6 seasons, it's certainly too small for a Heineken Cup Final.

as far as i remember (never really paid attention to that for the amlin) they pick the staduim far in advance, just like the HEC.
so surely, they would pick a bigger stadium to allow for a crowd...
with the HEC drop outs to the Amlin, it is technically possible to have an all Irish final in the Amlin (pity we couldnt use the Aviva twice that weekend :P)

Legion2008

Tomtom364 wrote: »

as far as i remember (never really paid attention to that for the amlin) they pick the staduim far in advance, just like the HEC.
so surely, they would pick a bigger stadium to allow for a crowd...
with the HEC drop outs to the Amlin, it is technically possible to have an all Irish final in the Amlin (pity we couldnt use the Aviva twice that weekend :P)

Well technically it's possible to have 2 all ireland finals .... :-) now wouldn't that be a great weekend !!!

Tomtom364

Tomtom364 wrote: »

as far as i remember (never really paid attention to that for the amlin) they pick the staduim far in advance, just like the HEC.
so surely, they would pick a bigger stadium to allow for a crowd...
with the HEC drop outs to the Amlin, it is technically possible to have an all Irish final in the Amlin (pity we couldnt use the Aviva twice that weekend :P)

The crowd wasn't above 12k for any game in the Amlin bar the Munster game.

Having been to a number of Edinburgh games this season in an empty stadium, I'm happy to report that nothing kills the mood in a stadium better than empty seats.

Far better to have a stadium that can cater for almost every game easily, without being overly big, and can squeeze in the majority for the 'once off' event that would be an Irish team contesting the final.