The direct economic benefit from the cup for the Manawatu/Rangitikei region will be about $2.8 million.THE beginning of June marked 100 days to go until Rugby World Cup 2011 kicks off.
It's a significant milestone as we work towards hosting the biggest sporting event ever held in New Zealand.
Despite the lion's
share of the games being played in the main centres, a lot of effort has gone into sharing the festivities right across the country.
It's great to see that Palmerston North is hosting two games - one between Georgia and Romania, and the other between Argentina and Georgia.
Rangitikei has also secured $52,000 of Rugby World Cup festival funding in a bid to attract some of the approximately 85,000 international visitors, from more than 100 countries, to our neck of the woods.
The funding is being shared by Taumarunui, which received $30,000 for a wide-ranging festival featuring sport, food and cultural activities; Bulls, which received $10,000 for a Running of the Bulls festival; and Taihape, which received $12,000 for the Gumboot Jam - Dance and Music Festival.
It's also pleasing to see that the Rugby Museum at Te Manawa has undergone a $2 million upgrade to better honour our national game and to provide a world-class visitor experience. The redevelopment has seen the museum triple in size, which will be needed as Cup organisers estimate about 30,000 visitors will visit the museum.
They also estimate that the direct economic benefit from the cup for the Manawatu/Rangitikei region will be about $2.8 million.
No matter how you look at it, it promises to be a fantastic couple of months - not to mention an excellent opportunity to showcase to the world what New Zealand's all about.
On a national scale, organisers remain confident that ticket sales remain on track despite the Christchurch earthquake, which resulted in all eight that city's games being moved to other centres, and all previously sold Christchurch tickets refunded.
