$11,000 for World Cup hospitality

An artist's impression of the pavilion to be built at Eden Park that will be able to cater for 5000 people. Photo / Supplied

Corporate guests - as well as fans willing to splash out - are expected to snap up 70,000 hospitality tickets for the Rugby World Cup and a state-of-the-art pavilion is being built at Eden Park to entertain them.

The packages don't come cheap - it's nearly $11,000 a person to attend both the semifinals and final.

UK-based Rugby Travel & Hospitality has the exclusive global travel and hospitality rights and has formed a New Zealand company for the tournament.

Operations director David White said the hospitality programme was focused on New Zealand and Australia, with a sales forecast of more than 70,000 tickets. Just over 20,000 tickets had been sold so far, which was on target, White said.

It was not just corporates buying hospitality packages.

"We've had strong interest from the mid-size and smaller companies and also a lot of individuals have bought tickets as well because they realise that hospitality is the only way to guarantee their seats for the semis and finals," he said.

The hospitality programme had the potential to bring in 12,500 overseas visitors.

"Globally you don't hide from the fact that it has been a major recession but I think companies in New Zealand are also seeing this as the one opportunity to enjoy hospitality at the Rugby World Cup and what we're finding the corporates are saying is if they don't entertain their guests, their competitors will," White said.

Hospitality packages at matches around the country included off-site locations, function rooms at stadiums, corporate boxes and the Eden Park Pavilion.

Prices run from $745 for individual matches up to $10,995 for a package including both semifinals and the final.

For Eden Park matches, guests will be entertained at the pavilion before and after the game, and led to top seats within the stadium for the matches themselves.

"Your initial reaction will be they're expensive and we don't hide from that fact but what we do say is that it's an international event - in fact, it is the sporting event of 2011," White said.

The building of the Eden Park Pavilion will start four months out from the tournament and cost about $10 million.

It will have a capacity to cater for 5000 people at eight restaurants and employ more than 1000 staff including catering, entertainment and security.

About $5 million of the build cost would be spent locally, employing hundreds of people, White said.

As part of the official travel programme the company had appointed a global network of 20 agents.

The travel programme was focused outside of New Zealand and Australia, and was forecast to sell more than 120,000 tickets, with 93,000 tickets sold to date.

"One market that is very strong is France and we've sold 22 per cent of those [overseas] tickets to France," he said.

"There's a unique relationship between New Zealand and France at the Rugby World Cup."

White is a New Zealander who was working in England as chief executive of Bristol Rugby before he got the opportunity to come home to work on the Cup.

"It's business," White says, "but it's tremendous fun".

The pavilion

* Built within grounds of Eden Park.

* Facade spans more than 50m and is about 20m high.

* Expected to take four months to build and cost about $10 million.

* Capacity for 5000 guests per match, with eight restaurants.

* More than 1000 staff a match including caterers, security and entertainment.

* Hospitality packages for both semis and the final cost up to $10,995.