An article in the Financial Times this week lists the plans by the Women’s World Cup organisers to ensure the event breaks even on a budget of £1m.
The IRB has provided a grant of £750,000 to support the tournament.
Quoting Paul Vaughan, the RFU’s business operations director the article reads:
“It costs roughly £200,000 to fly them [the 12 competing nations] in, and £450,000 for accommodation over the three weeks,”
With the highest-priced ticket for the group games only £12, and under-16s admitted for £5, Vaughan adds.
“For that, you will be able to see three matches – or parts of all six if you prefer – because there will be simultaneous matches on the two pitches,”
There is also the added bonus that ticket holders for the Women’s Rugby World Cup join a priority database for tickets for the men’s equivalent, which England hosts in 2015.
Kit McConnell, the International Rugby Board’s World Cup chief also says that the women’s tourment is about investing in the future of the sport and not necessarily about commercial gain.
“It isn’t like the men’s tournament, which generates surpluses that go towards the development of the game,” she says.
“We see the women’s tournament as an investment. Its goal is not to make money, but to showcase the women’s game and encourage more women to take it up, not only as players but also as referees or officials,”
This Women’s World Cup this year will be split between the Surrey Sports Park, a £32m University of Surrey facility adjacent to its Guildford campus, and the Stoop at Twickenham.
Vaughan says in this piece that the aim is to attract 2,000-2,500 paying spectators each day.
