Varadkar to unveil bid to bring Rugby World Cup to Ireland

jamo2oo9

Came across this in the Irish Independent this morning and it sparked some interest.
Varadkar to unveil bid to bring Rugby World Cup to Ireland

What are your thoughts about this?
I personally would love to see this happen but I don't know whether if we can get it and could we afford it too. As of now, our opposition is South Africa but of course, there are many more to come as the deadline isn't till 2016.



Here's a quote of it for those who are on mobile

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar is to brief the Cabinet tomorrow about the new feasibility study, which reveals that the tournament would bring in an additional 337,000 visitors.

Consultants Deloitte said in its study that it would be "realistic" to have a cross-border bid. It said there were sufficient stadiums in the country, given that the GAA had voted last March to allow Croke Park and other GAA stadiums to be used as part of a bid.

A government source said this was in addition to rugby stadiums such as the Aviva, Thomond Park in Limerick and Ravenhill in Belfast.

"The key benchmark is New Zealand, which is of comparable size and population. They used a diversity of stadiums to deliver the last Rugby World Cup," he said.

The Government will have to decide on making a bid before the deadline of 2016. The winner will be announced in 2017.

There would be a requirement for a financial commitment from the State towards a tournament company to run the competition.

But the government source said the study was "quite positive" on this aspect and had predicted that a surplus would be made.

The next Rugby World Cup will be held in England in 2015, followed by Japan in 2019. South Africa is expected to bid for the 2023 World Cup, but due to the rotation system in operation, a country like Ireland in the northern hemisphere is expected to be favoured.

The study puts the overall economic benefit of the Rugby World Cup at €800m.

Dyr

little leo has more important things to be worrying about.

I Heart Internet

Fair play. Sounds like a good idea.

Am I right in thinking it was the Off The Ball fellas on NEwstalk who first gave this idea a big push? Or was a movement already underway at that stage?

Sir Humphrey Appleby

Love to see it happen and the economic benefits would be huge.
Fair play to Leo for rowing in behind it.

jamo2oo9

Bambi wrote: »

little leo has more important things to be worrying about.

Like what? Yes, he has to worry about the transport network and what not but this coming to Ireland could bring in about €800m which would be a massive boast to our economy and a big boast in the tourism sector.

GLaDOS

Would have no interest in the tournament, but I can see the potential economic effects as a good positive, would be good to see.

padd b1975

Great idea.

Positives greatly out weigh any whinging the begrudgers will trot out.

Hope we get it.

murpho999

Why does everyone boil it down to the economy.

Having a Rugby World Cup here would be great for other reasons than just economical.

kowloon

No interest in Rugby, but if it brings in more than it costs to host and we can come up with the initial outlay, what's the problem?

keith16

Not sure it will happen tbh....IRB needs to grow the game outside of the traditional strongholds.

Would love to see it happen.

super_furry

Buy shares in Dubarry and Heineken loike now, gois!

Eight Ball

Well if Qatar got the football world cup then I suppose anything is possible.

Artful_Badger

Would be great to get it and from what I hear its a real possibility what with some of the big contenders having held it too recent to be likely to get it again so soon and the fact Ireland are a founding IRB nation and have a bit of clout voting wise.

pedanticpat

I'd like to see Ireland/Wales do it. We don't have the infrastructure for the whole thing, but with Wales on board, we'd do a fine job.

melekalikimaka

aside from Landsdowne and Croker, nowhere has the capacity to cater for big games. Raven Hill while just done up doesn't cut it, its barely the size of the RDS now and Thomond wouldnt be a great stadium to host international games IMO. A split maybe with Wales would make more sense, maybe even Bonny Scotland

Matt_Trakker

Don't countries make a loss when they host something like this?

If it's going to turn a profit I've no issue whatsoever, but usually countries make a loss on things like this.

Artful_Badger

There's a thread in the rugby forum about if from a while back. The OP makes a pretty decent argument as to why its very possible.

super_furry

Realistically it is possible - you'd get by with five, maybe six stadiums. The Aviva, Croke Park and Thomond (for smaller group games) would all be ready to go now. Spend money upgrading say - Ravenhill and Tallaght Stadium and that's five stadiums ready. If needs be you could hopefully call on Semple Stadium or Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Muahahaha

murpho999 wrote: »

Why does everyone boil it down to the economy.

Having a Rugby World Cup here would be great for other reasons than just economical.

Aussie and Argentinian women visiting our shores being just one of them. Hubba hubba !

drumswan

melekalikimaka wrote: »

aside from Landsdowne and Croker, nowhere has the capacity to cater for big games.

Its Rugby, there arent that many big games.

Podge_irl

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Don't countries make a loss when they host something like this?

If it's going to turn a profit I've no issue whatsoever, but usually countries make a loss on things like this.

Its quite possible a loss would be made on the tournament itself but the ancillary benefits from both the investment in infrastructure and the influx of people would vastly outweigh any costs.

The GAA have already voted to allow their stadia to be used.

Shedite27

keith16 wrote: »

Not sure it will happen tbh....IRB needs to grow the game outside of the traditional strongholds.

Would think Italy would be in with a good shout.

melekalikimaka

drumswan wrote: »

Its Rugby, there arent that many big games.

ireland england scotland wales new zealand south africa argentina Italy then the island teams, usa/canada, emerging nations like gerogia spain portugal and russia would pull in crowds.

keano_afc

Eight Ball wrote: »

Well if Qatar got the football world cup then I suppose anything is possible.

Yes but that was through corruption*

Having the world cup here would be great.







*allegedly

super_furry

It's on! http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/irish-international/2013/1118/487426-ireland-look-set-to-launch-rugby-world-cup-bid/

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Croker, the Aviva and Thomond Park are obvious ones, Gaelic Grounds, Fitzgerald Stadium and even Nowlan Park could be used. Ravenhill with a little expansion also, and if Casement Park and Páirc Uí Caoimh get their prosposed rebuilds they would both be excellent options. The likes of Semple Stadium and McHale Park, while good facilities, wouldn't be suitable because logically, you need each host stadium to be in a town or city with a large quota of hotel beds.

inforfun

For me as a foreigner...... would the GAA really give up stadiums so easily?
Didnt go too smooth for the years Croke parc was needed while the Aviva was built, did it?

Podge_irl

inforfun wrote: »

For me as a foreigner...... would the GAA really give up stadiums so easily?
Didnt go too smooth for the years Croke parc was needed while the Aviva was built, did it?

It went incredibly smoothly

The GAA have already agreed to their stadia being used.

Love this line:

"The next Rugby World Cup will be held in England in 2015, followed by Japan in 2019. South Africa is expected to bid for the 2023 World Cup, but due to the rotation system in operation, a country like Ireland in the northern hemisphere is expected to be favoured."

Which hemisphere do they think Japan is in?!?

All in favour of the idea.

spank_inferno

Bambi wrote: »

little leo has more important things to be worrying about.

Does he?

Like what?

Dyr

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

Like what? Yes, he has to worry about the transport network and what not but this coming to Ireland could bring in about €800m which would be a massive boast to our economy and a big boast in the tourism sector.

And after that he should team up with fellow blueshirt gay mitchell to bring the olympics here.

These schemes are a politicians crack pipe. You just end up with a massive bill

JJJJNR

Is that the oval ball one?

iDave

Would be great but as it is only a handful of stadiums cut the mustard. The likes of Thomand, RDS, Pearse, PUC, Ravenhill, Fitzgerald, Semple etc. are not up to international standard even if they're popular within Ireland. South Africa and Italy can deliver a much better stadium infrastructure in the morning if they had too. Serious redevelopment work will be needed.
As it is I would only consider Croke Park, Aviva and the plans for Casement Park to be acceptable.

melekalikimaka

inforfun wrote: »

For me as a foreigner...... would the GAA really give up stadiums so easily?
Didnt go too smooth for the years Croke parc was needed while the Aviva was built, did it?

the GAA need a reality check

Paramite Pie

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

Like what? Yes, he has to worry about the transport network and what not but this coming to Ireland could bring in about €800m which would be a massive boast to our economy and a big boast in the tourism sector.

It's also a good incentive to get funds from the Government to improve transport.;)

drumswan

iDave wrote: »

Would be great but as it is only a handful of stadiums cut the mustard. The likes of Thomand, RDS, Pearse, PUC, Ravenhill, Fitzgerald, Semple etc. are not up to international standard even if they're popular within Ireland.

These are easily as good as the provincial grounds in NZ.

OldRio

inforfun wrote: »

For me as a foreigner...... would the GAA really give up stadiums so easily?
Didnt go too smooth for the years Croke parc was needed while the Aviva was built, did it?

GAA are on board with the bid.
As for your second point. It went very very well. Do you agree ?

inforfun

OldRio wrote: »

GAA are on board with the bid.
As for your second point. It went very very well. Do you agree ?

The actual use of the stadium went well.
But i always had the impression the negotiations to use the stadium were difficult.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

inforfun wrote: »

The actual use of the stadium went well.
But i always had the impression the negotiations to use the stadium were difficult.

They were the first time round because a lot of the most conservative elements in the GAA held things up for years. This time round it was agreed to quite readily and no further negotiations are necessary.

Jimoslimos

I think it could be done, certainly as mentioned before the stadia are no worse than many seen in NZ, even Italy wouldn't be much better, many grounds there are in need of refurbishment. Not all games will attract 50,000 plus supporters, especially between the minor nations. Certainly a few grounds will need some work but nothing major.

What I don't want to see is major matches given over to Cardiff or Edinburgh as a bribe to win the bid. It dilutes the idea of an Irish World Cup and loses us valuable tourist revenue.

Rewind one

melekalikimaka wrote: »

aside from Landsdowne and Croker, nowhere has the capacity to cater for big games. Raven Hill while just done up doesn't cut it, its barely the size of the RDS now and Thomond wouldnt be a great stadium to host international games IMO. A split maybe with Wales would make more sense, maybe even Bonny Scotland

No and no,we dont even need the north,but windsor park would be decent enough,the gaa have many fantastic stadiums,also i dont know if you watched the NZ world cup,but many of their stadiums were smaller than thomond park.

kippy

There are only a few countries that would host a Rugby world cup, at this point I think most of them that would want to have - so its our turn!

We've a number of stadia that would be suitable, both sides of the border and with some assistance from other sports. The good news is few of these stadia would require major investment to host the tournament but this might change come the 2020's.

I see no problems really with hosting the event from an infrastructural point of view.

Would be great for the country.

suicide_circus

do they have any stadia of note up north?

Rewind one

suicide_circus wrote: »

do they have any stadia of note up north?

No they genuinely dont. we dont need them at all TBH.

suicide_circus

Rewind one wrote: »

No they genuinely dont. we dont need them at all TBH.

well we frequently need them when fielding a team so I think they should be involved, they're hardly aliens.

The Lost Sheep

melekalikimaka wrote: »

aside from Landsdowne and Croker, nowhere has the capacity to cater for big games. Raven Hill while just done up doesn't cut it, its barely the size of the RDS now and Thomond wouldnt be a great stadium to host international games IMO. A split maybe with Wales would make more sense, maybe even Bonny Scotland

Thomond is fine for International games. whats wrong with it?
If you got use of 4/5 GAA grounds you would be fine and GAA have already been open to discussion on the issue

super_furry wrote: »

Realistically it is possible - you'd get by with five, maybe six stadiums. The Aviva, Croke Park and Thomond (for smaller group games) would all be ready to go now. Spend money upgrading say - Ravenhill and Tallaght Stadium and that's five stadiums ready. If needs be you could hopefully call on Semple Stadium or Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

You wouldnt.You would need at least 10 grounds, going on the past 2/3 world cups as well as the Next 2 in England and Japan.
5/6 grounds for 48 games...

iDave wrote: »

Would be great but as it is only a handful of stadiums cut the mustard. The likes of Thomand, RDS, Pearse, PUC, Ravenhill, Fitzgerald, Semple etc. are not up to international standard even if they're popular within Ireland. South Africa and Italy can deliver a much better stadium infrastructure in the morning if they had too. Serious redevelopment work will be needed.
As it is I would only consider Croke Park, Aviva and the plans for Casement Park to be acceptable.

Thomond would be fine. It hosted games in 1999 and it was nothing on what ground is like know and has like the RDS and Ravenhill hosted Internationals recently

Duckworth_Luas

Casement Park, Ravenhill and Windsor Park are all earmarked for upgrades. Two of these three would have to be used.

Two of the stadia used in New Zealand were no better than the Showgrounds in Sligo.

kippy

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

Casement Park, Ravenhill and Windsor Park are all earmarked for upgrades. Two of these three would have to be used.

Two of the stadia used in New Zealand were no better than the Showgrounds in Sligo.

Thats the thing, the smaller games dont need 30+k seater stadia.
We've plenty stadia that can accomodate this event.

Lapin

pedanticpat wrote: »

I'd like to see Ireland/Wales do it. We don't have the infrastructure for the whole thing, but with Wales on board, we'd do a fine job.

Yes we do.

melekalikimaka wrote: »

aside from Landsdowne and Croker, nowhere has the capacity to cater for big games. Raven Hill while just done up doesn't cut it, its barely the size of the RDS now and Thomond wouldnt be a great stadium to host international games IMO. A split maybe with Wales would make more sense, maybe even Bonny Scotland

Of the 12 venues that hosted games for the 2011 RWC in New Zealand, only 2 of them had capacities of over 30,000.

Between North and South, we have more than enough, especially with the welcome co-operation of the GAA. Already, places like Galway are submitting bids to become host cities for the tournament with Pearse Stadium and The Sportsground being considered as venues.

Some grounds will need alterations (temporary and permanent) but Ireland is well positioned from an infrastructural point of view to host a tournament like this. We have co hosted the competition in the past in Limerick, Belfast and Dublin. One of the semi finals of the 1991 tournament was played in Lansdowne Road.

Ireland is well capable of hosting this event. We should get behind the bid.

The Lost Sheep

Lapin wrote: »

Yes we do.

Of the 12 venues that hosted games for the 2011 RWC in New Zealand, only 2 of them had capacities of over 30,000.

Between North and South, we have more than enough, especially with the welcome co-operation of the GAA. Already, places like Galway are submitting bids to become host cities for the tournament with Pearse Stadium and The Sportsground being considered as venues.

Some grounds will need alterations (temporary and permanent) but Ireland is well positioned from an infrastructural point of view to host a tournament like this. We have co hosted the competition in the past in Limerick, Belfast and Dublin. One of the semi finals of the 1991 tournament was played in Lansdowne Road.

Ireland is well capable of hosting this event. We should get behind the bid.

Hard to contrast us hosting event with NZ due to our proximity to much more of the rugby playing nations and crowds etc but yes i agree we are well positioned to host a RWC

Lapin

Rewind one wrote: »

we dont even need the north

I'll whisper this gently.

Its a joint bid - Rugby is a 32 county game in Ireland - 'We' also means them.


Lets hope this doesn't become one of those threads.