KEY POINTS:
With 1000 days to go to Rugby World Cup 2011, the new South Stand at Eden Park is rising fast from ground zero.
Rows of concrete columns, descending in height the closer they get to the hallowed turf, are emerging from volcanic rock foundations.
The site of the old South Stand, a 1959 landmark flattened in August, is a hive of activity. Heavy diggers hammer the hard rock. Piles of reinforcing steel, scaffolding and gravel await use. The first concrete floor has been poured for the back-of-house kitchen.
Though it has not been confirmed, there is every chance that on September 10, 2011, the All Blacks will run out from the new stand to play France in the opening match of the $310 million event.
It will be the largest sports show New Zealand has hosted, eclipsing the 1990 Commonwealth Games, 2003 America's Cup, the Lions rugby tour in 2005 and the very first World Cup in 1987 - won by the All Blacks at Eden Park in 1987, when they defeated France 29-9.
The 2011 tournament is expected to attract between 60,000 and 70,000 overseas visitors, mostly from the Home Union countries of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. There will be a strong contingent from South Africa and Australians are expected to make short visits across the ditch.
Kit McConnell, Rugby World Cup tournament director for the International Rugby Board, says the Dublin-based board is very comfortable with progress at the halfway stage between New Zealand winning the rights and hosting the Cup.
Sure, there are challenges, says the former Aucklander, who has been based at rugby headquarters in Wellington for six months. They include venues, such as the $240.5 million upgrade of Eden Park; transport infrastructure and finding accommodation for rugby fans. Can we fit them all in? Where will they stay? And what's been done to plan for their needs?
The global economic situation and how it will pan out is also casting a shadow over the event and will be felt in two areas, says McConnell.
The first is commercial sponsorship. Emirates airlines has signed up as a worldwide partner and Rugby World Cup is confident of securing two further partners.
The second area is ticketing. Ticket prices will be set mid-next year and will be similar to prices at the 2007 Cup in France. Tickets to the final are expected to cost $500 to $1000, but watching the minnows in pool play could cost as little as $20.
"It's really a matter of being objective and rational and not panicking, but at the same time just assessing how we can build in those risks in the tournament planning," says McConnell.
The economic downturn is not worrying Fletcher Construction, which has 100 workers at Eden Park and expects to finish the new three-tier 21,500-seat South Stand by October 2010. This will give a window for rugby and neighbours to test the new facilities before the Cup.
Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden says Eden Park is now in good shape to become the showcase for the Cup. The final design, including exterior silver fern arches and landscaping, will be far better than people are expecting, he says.
As well as the likelihood of kicking off the tournament, Eden Park will host the two semi-finals, bronze final and final match, largely for economic reasons. The sole revenue source for the New Zealand Rugby Union from the Cup is ticket sales, and filling Eden Park to its 60,000-seat capacity is the biggest money spinner.
The only other confirmed stadiums are AMI Stadium in Christchurch and Wellington's Cake Tin, which will each host two quarter-finals. AMI Stadium is in the midst of renovations to build a new east stand.
Another 16 stadiums have been put forward by 11 regions to host 40 pool matches. Snedden says the IRB want 10 stadiums. The allocation will be made next March, followed by the announcement of team bases later in the year.
Snedden says some venues will miss out. Some, like Okara Park in Whangarei and Trafalgar Park in Nelson, would need upgrading. With a new covered stadium in Dunedin looking less likely, the city's home of rugby at Carisbrook would also need a facelift to come up to tournament requirements.
Provincial cities are keen to host matches and share some of the estimated $1.15 billion spoils to the economy. Northland 2011 - a joint venture between the Northland Rugby Union and Destination Northland - believes the Cup could generate $36.6 million locally.
Playing two pool matches at Okara Park would bring $5.1 million. Hosting two teams during the five-week pool phase - one in Whangarei and one in the Bay of Islands - would bring $3.8 million and touring supporters wold produce a further $27.7 million.
