NZ Rugby set for $30m windfall from Lions tour
The All Blacks may not have achieved the result they wanted to, but the same can’t be said for New Zealand Rugby at the end of a record revenue-generating Lions tour that could produce in excess of a $30 million profit for the hosts.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said that they would not know the financial windfall from the tour for a while yet, but everything was projecting towards the 10-match visit meeting budgeted expectations.
Tew would not reveal what those budgeted figures were, but given the union banked a $20.4m profit from the 2005 tour, that this series had two of the three tests at the near 50,000-capacity Eden Park, and that ticket prices were hiked up to $450-plus for the internationals, and a $30m-plus wind- fall would have to be expected.
‘‘It’s a bit early in terms of wrapping up costs and income, but we were very close to selling out every game which was our budgeted expectation, so we should be on track. There were no red flags, that’s for sure,’’ Tew said.
‘‘It’s got to be remembered we factor the Lions tour once every 12 years into our view of the world rugby money flow. It will be a big income spike this year, but it needs to be spread out over a number of years of expenses.’’
At present the host nation banks the lion’s share of profits generated by the tour out of ticket prices, hospitality packages and the like, though those terms could change.
The current agreement is now up and there will be a renegotiation between the three southern hemisphere nations and Lions organisation to cover at least the next three tours (already flagged to be reduced to eight matches) that are locked into the international schedule.
‘‘We have a joint venture company that binds us all together in this process,’’ added Tew. ‘‘[Lions CEO] John Feehan and I had a good conversation before the last test match. We’ve got a process, he wants to go back and talk to his board and we’ll talk to our Sanzaar colleagues in due course, and get on with it over the next few months and hopefully lock that down.’’
But Tew did not anticipate a major change in how profits were distributed.
‘‘A lot has changed in 12 years. The broadcast landscape, for example, is completely different than it was when we made these agreements.
‘‘But we consider the income that the south generates from a Lions tour as a really important part of equalising what is an inequitable distribution of money when we tour north and they tour south in a normal year.’’
Tew also confirmed media reports suggesting this would be the last Lions tour were wide of the mark.
‘‘Most of that talk came from, last time I looked, people who aren’t actually running the international game. We made it very clear when we announced the calendar we agreed for another 10 years, which includes three Lions tours, that Lions tours are an important part of that.
‘‘They obviously have to go back and have discussions with their clubs around release dates and how that will flow on to the itinerary of the next three series. But we don’t have an international calendar unless the Lions are part of it.’’
The NZ Rugby boss said having two of the three tests in Auckland had been a decision made more around infrastructure than revenue, but felt New Zealand had shown once again its ability to host a major event of this nature with huge (20,000-plus) visitor numbers.
‘‘Everyone in New Zealand can be very proud once again that we stood up and did a great job showcasing what is good about New Zealand and New Zealanders, and also that we’re capable of holding big events.’’
Tew admitted the All Blacks’ failure to win the series had been a ‘‘disappointment’’ but felt even that had a silver lining.
‘‘The reality is if you take the best players from the four Home Unions and get them to play together then you should have a very good side. They obviously gave a lot of thought to how best to play the All Blacks, and you saw that, particularly from a defence point of view.
‘‘We’ve ended up with a lot more younger players playing this series than we would have planned for, but they’ll be better for it. That experience will be banked for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and will be invaluable.’’