Christchurch and Wellington get the nod
The Cake Tin: Wellington to get a piece of the quarter-final action in 2011
Christchurch and Wellington were confirmed as the two cities to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, ensuring the plan to envelop the country with the tournament would be achieved for the business-end of the event.
Auckland's Eden Park was named to host the play-off for third as well as both semi-finals and the final.
Two quarter-finals will be played at Wellington's Westpac Stadium, a venue of only 34,500 seats, and two at Christchurch's AMI Stadium, with a capacity of 41,000 seats, Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden said Thursday.
The 3rd vs 4th play-off will be played at Auckland's Eden Park, which will have a capacity of 60,000 after redevelopment which is currently under way.
The decision may cost the New Zealand Rugby Union as much as NZ$10 million (US$6.7 million) in gate revenues it would have received if it had scheduled play-off matches at Auckland's larger venue.
The 2011 tournament is already expected to make a NZ$30 million ($US20 million) loss, which will be underwritten by the New Zealand government.
Three New Zealand cities - Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch - bid to host quarter-final matches and two - Auckland and Hamilton - expressed interest in hosting the bronze (third place) medal match, Snedden said.
The International Rugby Board had been kept informed of New Zealand's intentions for the first match allocations of the 2011 and had approved the decision, he added.
Earlier this week IRB chief executive Mike Miller had said it was his organisation's "clear and strong preference" that Auckland and one other city should host the quarter-finals.
"It makes sense on many levels," Miller said.
"The most important reason is financial. It's far more affordable to use two cities instead of three. And it's easier from an operational standpoint."
New Zealand managed to sway the international body in favour of two matches at smaller venues and IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset of France on Thursday endorsed Wellington and Christchurch as quarter-final hosts.
"Our experience tells us that for the integrity of the tournament, in terms of planning and management, the best option is two venues for the quarter-finals," he said.
"It means there is clarity for the traveling supporters in terms of their ticket purchase options in advance of the tournament and it greatly assists team logistics and travel planning for the knock-out stages."
The quarter-finals will be played over the weekend of Oct. 7-9, 2011 and the semi-finals the following weekend, Oct. 15 and 16.
The final will be played on the weekend of Oct. 21 to 23 - Labour weekend holiday in New Zealand - and the bronze (third place) medal match two days before the final.