Richard Loe: Shifting opens whole new can of worms

Martin Sneddon could have some rescheduling headaches. Photo / Dean Purcell

It was a no-brainer relocating the World Cup matches from Christchurch, though I wonder how much ticketing strife and lost income it will cause.

You don't even have to start going on about rebuilding the stadium and accommodation and all that stuff.

The plain fact is they couldn't even have got the pitch right in time after all that liquefaction.

The grass would not only have to grow but take root firmly enough to withstand the pressures of big, fast players shredding it up.

We all know how it spoils the spectacle (and it's dangerous for the players) when the grass footing digs up, as has happened a few times at major stadiums round the world.

I replanted some grass on the farm in February and it has only grown a couple of inches now. I will not get any grazing out of it before winter sets in.

It is the same for AMI Stadium. It would have to grow and stay firm before winter sets in - and there just isn't the time for that.

So with the playing surface "munted", as our mayor likes to say, you don't even have to look any further.

The matches had to be shifted. Of course the quarter-finals had to go to Auckland.

It's fair enough too that the bigger pool matches - games like Argentina vs England and Argentina vs Scotland - also get transferred to bigger stadiums, probably in the North Island.

Smaller matches such as England vs Georgia and Australia vs Russia can stay in the South and so too, maybe, could Australia vs Italy - even though some people reckon that could be heading to North Harbour Stadium.

Italy were to have been based in Nelson and there is a sizeable Italian community there.

I know from talking to folk there some time back that the town was really gearing itself up to 'go Italian' - like restaurateurs planning big Italian menus. It would be good if that could still happen.

However, it's a question of matching likely crowd sizes to venues and it will be one hell of a headache for Martin Snedden and his henchmen, so you'd have to hope people stay patient and don't kick up too much of a fuss.

They may have some trouble getting rid of tickets with all the changes, though.

Some people will have to contemplate shelling out more money to get to games they were expecting in their back yard - and I wonder how many will do it.

My own feeling is that I may not go to the quarter-final in Auckland that was to be held in Christchurch.

I had bought a few tickets at $450 each for that game. Now I have to find a flight to Auckland; it costs an arm and a leg to get from the airport into the city or Eden Park; and if you can't bunk at a mate's place, you are staring at a big hotel bill too.

I reckon that could cost me about $3000 or more all up and I am still making up my mind what to do. I bet a lot of people are having the same thoughts.

When you understand that ticket sales are the only source of revenue for the New Zealand organisers (the International Rugby Board swallows everything else), you can see how the earthquake might end up increasing the loss that New Zealand will make from hosting the Cup.

I hope, too, that the re-ticketing goes smoothly. The first time round, there were all sorts of cock-ups on my Visa card statements and it took a lot of sorting out. Here's hoping that doesn't all get repeated.

People are forgiving and sensitive to the urgencies caused by the quake - but you still wouldn't want New Zealand to look too Mickey Mouse in trying to sort it.