Rugby chiefs aim to relight the fire in 2015
ORGANISERS of the 2015 Rugby World Cup want to use the Olympic Stadium as one of their venues for the country’s next global sporting event.
But their plan to make a formal application is on hold because there is uncertainty over issues such as tenancy and future capacity.
It is expected that the stadium, which currently holds 80,000, will eventually be occupied by West Ham United.
‘We have the option of using the Olympic Park to stage matches and that is at the forefront of our minds,’ said Ross Young, England Rugby 2015’s chief operating officer.
‘The issue we have is that they (Olympic Park Legacy Company) have gone through a number of options in terms of the long- term use of the stadium. That process is still ongoing and it doesn’t fit into the time-line we have to operate within. The issue is we can’t get finite answers.’
Officials from ER 2015 have visited more than 20 venues in the past few months and reported to the organisation’s board a week ago.
Prospective host cities have been asked to submit proposals this week to support their applications — including financial input, the provision of fan zones, organising of special events around fixtures and other initiatives.
While a list of potential venues will be submitted to Rugby World Cup Ltd next month, the Olympic legacy authorities will be given every opportunity to ensure the stadium can join that list.
‘We will give the Olympic Park Legacy Company more time to come back to us with the answers we need,’ said Young. ‘Their major workload doesn’t just stop with the parade in London, so what we’ve said to them is to come back to us as soon as is practicable.
‘When you’ve got a venue which worked as well as it has, with twice the number of people to get in and out (compared to projected attendances for World Cup matches), then it would be naïve not to consider it.
‘The first thing we have to answer is whether top-level rugby could be played at that venue, but for now we don’t have that info.
‘ Once the draw has been made, our time-line will involve the match schedule being finalised in the first quarter of next year. Until then, there is flexibility in terms of venue selection, but if that time comes and there are still too many question marks over the Olympic Park, then we will have to decide whether to hold on any longer or allocate games to other stadiums.’
A number of city and town councils around the country — largely in conjunction with local football clubs — have approached ER 2015 to make applications to host matches, leading to regional contests between rival bidding venues.
It is understood that organisers will encourage this type of competition, with examples such as Sunderland challenging Newcastle in the North East, and Derby and Coventry vying with the rugby stronghold of Leicester in the East Midlands.
There is increased interest in considering East Anglia as a location for fixtures in light of strong interest from Ipswich, while the only ‘gap’ area is one of the sport’s hot-beds, the South West, due to a lack of suitable stadia. That opens the door for Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium to pick up the slack.
In London, either the Olympic Stadium or Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium will serve as the third venue, with 90,000- capacity Wembley already pencilled in and Twickenham — which is due to undergo redevelopment to improve facilities — ready to stage the opening game and final.