The finals of those latter Cup tournaments though, well, don’t expect to see one in South Africa any time soon…
United Rugby Championship fixtures
This weekend | +2 GMT
FRIDAY
Glasgow vs Zebre
20:35
SATURDAY
Cardiff vs Scarlets
16:00
Benetton vs Sharks
16:00
Edinburgh vs Stormers
18:15
Leinster vs Munster
18:45
Ospreys vs Bulls
20:35
Ulster vs Connacht
21:00
SUNDAY
Dragons vs Lions
Dragons vs Lions
15:30
The ultimate play to pay
In rugby, we are very used to the concept of earning your right to host the final of a tournament by being the top team. Home ground advantage is huge, and a massive incentive to play for.
In these European Cup competitions though, they follow the football model whereby the rights holders entertain bids from cities to host the final, which creates this neutral setting for the title match.
Absolutely understandable. They get to monetise their product, and host cities that may not have teams good enough to make finals at least get to host one by putting up the cash.
How much cash are we talking though?
In today’s money, around R282 million.
Yup, so it’s hard to see this coming to SA anytime soon.
In these European Cup competitions though, they follow the football model whereby the rights holders entertain bids from cities to host the final, which creates this neutral setting for the title match.
Absolutely understandable. They get to monetise their product, and host cities that may not have teams good enough to make finals at least get to host one by putting up the cash.
How much cash are we talking though?
In today’s money, around R282 million.
Yup, so it’s hard to see this coming to SA anytime soon.
How the numbers could make sense to host it
R282 million is a big number, but like all things in business, this is just the price for the product. What about the ‘sell’ opportunities from having the product?
First up, the only customer here is a city, as they are the only ones that could sort of get a return here by hosting.
For example, 2023 the city of Cape Town hosted the E Prix race, and paid in the R250 million ballpark to do so which makes it comparable with the European Champions Cup hosting. It was reported that this event then delivered over R1 billion in economic activity in the city from there. Which, on paper, makes it look like a pretty decent financial decision.
But they declined to host the event since saying it just costs too much. Hosting the E Prix now requires a R300 million investment. You may think the R1 billion upside makes it worthwhile, but that money goes to many stakeholders and the city doesn’t really recoup anything, so it’s a pure investment into infrastructure so to speak. Something they have money for, but that money naturally has many other demands.
So if a ‘R1 billion’ economic activity event is too much money at R300 million investment, you would think that this rugby event with potentially less upside will also be skipped on going forward.
First up, the only customer here is a city, as they are the only ones that could sort of get a return here by hosting.
For example, 2023 the city of Cape Town hosted the E Prix race, and paid in the R250 million ballpark to do so which makes it comparable with the European Champions Cup hosting. It was reported that this event then delivered over R1 billion in economic activity in the city from there. Which, on paper, makes it look like a pretty decent financial decision.
But they declined to host the event since saying it just costs too much. Hosting the E Prix now requires a R300 million investment. You may think the R1 billion upside makes it worthwhile, but that money goes to many stakeholders and the city doesn’t really recoup anything, so it’s a pure investment into infrastructure so to speak. Something they have money for, but that money naturally has many other demands.
So if a ‘R1 billion’ economic activity event is too much money at R300 million investment, you would think that this rugby event with potentially less upside will also be skipped on going forward.
The thrill of Rugby Travel
Of course the other side of this is getting to make a trip if your team does make a European Cup final. Football fans have been doing this for decades with their clubs, and with the ever changing landscape of SA rugby, this is just another new dynamic to enjoy.