Eden Park could host Rugby League World Cup final in 2017 says event boss
|
Last updated 16:33 21/08/2015
DAVID LONG
The head of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup says Eden Park is well and truly in contention to host the final.Lawrence Smith/Fairfax NZ
Rugby League World Cup boss Michael Brown says the final of the tournament could be at Eden Park.
Previously was in charge of the football Asian Cup, held in Australia, Brown was recently appointed CEO of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, which will be jointly held in Australia and New Zealand.
He made his first visit to New Zealand since taking on his new job on Friday and was given a tour of Eden Park by New Zealand Rugby League CEO Phil Holden.
Brown was impressed by the stadium and said Auckland could host the final if the city was able to present the best offer.
"The final is up for grabs," Brown said.
"Anyone who's prepared to embrace what the final needs to do, the way it needs to engage with people, the way it needs to showcase a world class event like this, that's where we want to play.
"For places like Eden Park it's a fantastic opportunity, it's got a great history of hosting a fantastic sporting events and Australia and New Zealand are on a par now in terms of their abilities to host international sport, so we're looking forward to it."
Advertisement
Auckland will face competition from Sydney and Brisbane to host the final and semifinals and there will also be decisions made about where the other games are played.
Brown said they will be split equally between Australia and New Zealand.
"We can go to as many venues as we like but you've got to make sure you're maximising exposure for the event," he said.
"Around 12 would be the right number, we haven't worked out where the venues will be, but they will be in Australia and New Zealand.
"The board of the Rugby League World Cup is made up of two directors from New Zealand, two from Australia and two from the Rugby League International Federation," he added.
"So we'll put recommendations to them and those decisions will be made in due course, but it's fair to say there will be a fairly equitable split on both sides.
"Really, if New Zealand shows more interest in more games, that's where more games will go.
"It naturally falls that the New Zealand games should be here. It would be great to host a semifinal in New Zealand, they're the No 1 ranked team in the world so they get a fair few rights in terms of pecking order and Australia having won the title in 2013, they're keen to get that title back."
Brown will have discussions with the New Zealand government and city councils who are interested in hosting games, but says it's likely that Samoa and Tonga will play games in Auckland to tap into the large Pacific Island communities in the city.
"You have really got to go to where the people are," he said.
"So New Zealand Rugby League will be telling us where strategically we should go and importantly where the communities are.
"You want to be able to maximise the communities coming to matches so it's very important to community expectations and great facilities with a world class event such as this."
