Ireland to bid for 2023 World Cup?

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/c...ar-keen-to-explore-world-cup-bid-3024340.html

Varadkar keen to explore World Cup bid

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar will meet shortly with the IRFU to see if Ireland will launch a bid to host the Rugby World Cup.

It is believed that the IRFU is currently engaged in "detailed research into the possibility of Ireland hosting the 2023 World Cup".

However, Varadkar's very public declaration of support for the project is likely to give significant impetus to the Union's ambitions.

Government support would be vital to any bid given that Japan have had to guarantee the 2019 RWC to the tune of €115m and that is likely to increase by about 10 per cent for the 2023 staging.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, one senior source said: "The Minister wants to see it happen but would need first to see if it is feasible. This has been canvassed, something concrete is happening," and the view from the top is that "if it is feasible it would be fantastic."

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne confirmed that the ambitious project was being considered. "It's something that we've looked at in the past and coming back from New Zealand and seeing what they were able to do there, we said let's have a look at it again. So that's all we're doing: having a think about it. It's a question ultimately of whether the Government wants to get involved in it or not. If they don't want to get involved in it then it doesn't happen."

The 2023 event is the next available slot for hosting the World Cup and it is believed the IRFU have 12 months to formalise a bid. Though top-level political support would be invaluable, a source close to the Minister said "any initiative would have to be led by the IRFU."

Significantly, Mr Varadkar's relations with the IRFU are far warmer than those that existed during his predecessor Eamon Ryan's tenure. Though the Minister has made light of his sporting credentials in public, he is "a closet Leinster fan" who admits to having played "very bad rugby as a child but kept an interest."

As a politician, Varadkar is believed to be more interested in "the huge tourist and macro-economic boost and the positive effect on national morale hosting such a tremendous sporting event would have."

Responding to concerns that such a bid would suffer the same fate as Gay Mitchell's famous suggestion that the Olympics should be brought to Dublin, a spokesperson for the Department noted the objective facts were completely different. "Unlike the 1980s we already have the stadiums and infrastructure for such a competition," said the spokesperson, adding that the success of the recent New Zealand World Cup "proved small countries can hold such an event."

They noted that when it comes to grounds we "already have the Aviva and the RDS, Croke Park has been used for rugby in the past, Ravenhill is currently being refurbished and we also have other historic grounds such as Thomond Park."

Top-level sources also noted "the tournament could be held on an All-Ireland basis whilst the other Celtic Nations, Wales and Scotland, or England for that matter, could be involved."

A World Cup can attract tens of thousands of visiting fans, 2,500 international media, and up to 2,500 corporate and VIP guests throughout the tournament. It is believed the RWC in 2007 brought in 400,000 additional visitors to France delivering a total economic impact of €4bn.

As an Irishman, I'd love to see us host the World Cup on our own. As a rugby fan, I'd much rather see it go to Italy, North America or Argentina.

I'm glad to see Leo Varadkar being pro-active though. The last few sports ministers in Ireland have been a joke. I suppose now that we've no money, he has to be smarter in how he allocates resources. That he views investing in rugby as a smart use of the state's money can only be a good thing for the sport here.

 

[Robert Prosser]

Would be good for Ireland if they could get it but have they got sufficent stadia to hold the RWC if not I feel they would have to use Cardiff and Scotland for a few games, I know Ireland got some big grounds in hte Gaelic Football but these grounds are not allowed to be used I do believe.

 

[Teh Mite]

Wave enough money under their noses and the GAA will cave in. They didn't exactly stick to their guns when Lansdowne was being redeveloped.

Feasible for them to do it if they can get some of the GAA stadia and drastically improve the infrastructure (particularly roads and transport links), NZ managed it.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

What Stadiums do we have though?

Lansdowne road (approx 45-50k capacity)
Croke Park (82k)
RDS (18k)
Thomond (20K)
Ravenhill (12k??)
Millennium Stadium
Casement park (Being rebuilt into a 45 or 60k stadium, can't remember which)

Is that enough to host a World cup?

 

[big ginger 8]

Would love it to happen but it doesn't seem to feasible. The G.A.A. are unlikely to cave I'd say look at the way the votes are going on the payments to managers. Depending on players coming through (many who will be at their peaks are ones I'm playing with and against and there are some seriously good players) it would be our best chance at winning it. Some games would have to go to Wales and/or Scotland though.

 

[Feicarsinn]

I've gone through why I don't think we should host a RWC alone before so I wont go into it again here. I wouldn't mind seeing a few games down the road from me though.

 

[Melhor Time]

As an Irishman, I'd love to see us host the World Cup on our own. As a rugby fan, I'd much rather see it go to Italy, North America or Argentina.

I'm glad to see Leo Varadkar being pro-active though. The last few sports ministers in Ireland have been a joke. I suppose now that we've no money, he has to be smarter in how he allocates resources. That he views investing in rugby as a smart use of the state's money can only be a good thing for the sport here.

I don´t want to say I told you so.... but... well, I did.

Seriously though - Ireland as a European host would not match either Italy or Russia. These are the two to host after England in 2015. 2023 has to go to Argentina.

 

[munstermuffin]

Lads just to say even without the GAA it is possible.

Aviva
Murrayfield (I expect Scotland to be given a group)
Thomond Park
RDS
Ravenhill (Which should be redeveloped by then)
Fitzgearld Stadium in Killarney (Not owned by GAA)
Casement Park (Not owned by GAA)
And I'm sure if one more had to be built that'd be good

And if stuck the GAA would be under too much pressure and well stadiums that even now are up to standard with minor jobs to be done (if any)
Croke Park
Pearce Stadium (Salthill)
Gaelic Grounds (Limerick)
Portlaoise GAA Ground


That means the competition can be well spread around the Country and we are well capable of pullingf it off and well what a major boost it'd be for the country and to show off our wonderful sights and boost tourism here.

Also we have excellent facilities for training bases all over the country and well I think we can match anyone in the world for this area if not stadia

 

[Feicarsinn]

Lads just to say even without the GAA it is possible.

Aviva
Murrayfield (I expect Scotland to be given a group)
Thomond Park
RDS
Ravenhill (Which should be redeveloped by then)
Fitzgearld Stadium in Killarney (Not owned by GAA)
Casement Park (Not owned by GAA)
And I'm sure if one more had to be built that'd be good

And if stuck the GAA would be under too much pressure and well stadiums that even now are up to standard with minor jobs to be done (if any)
Croke Park
Pearce Stadium (Salthill)
Gaelic Grounds (Limerick)
Portlaoise GAA Ground


That means the competition can be well spread around the Country and we are well capable of pullingf it off and well what a major boost it'd be for the country and to show off our wonderful sights and boost tourism here.

Also we have excellent facilities for training bases all over the country and well I think we can match anyone in the world for this area if not stadia

Not having a go or anything but I don't think either Killarney or Casement are up to scratch. even if redeveloped (as I believed Casement is due to be), they'll still be stadia built with GAA in mind and therefore rubbish grounds to watch rugby in. Also, there'd be little point using the Gaelic grounds in Limerick with Thomond being just round the corner. Once again, I'd like to stress I'm against us bidding alone, but if we were to do so I'd imagine we'd need:

Croke Park
Landsdowne Road
The RDS (only to be used for wee pool games as it's only about 10 minutes walk from the aviva)
Thomond
Ravenhill
Another new Stadium in Belfast, about 25,000 with a view to replacing Windsor Park
A new 20,000 stadium in Cork
A decent stadium in Galway, although I reckon Pearse stadium might be a bit big.
Somewhere to serve the midlands

Lots of work, because as I've stressed, GAA stadia should not be used.

 

[munstermuffin]

Not having a go or anything but I don't think either Killarney or Casement are up to scratch. even if redeveloped (as I believed Casement is due to be), they'll still be stadia built with GAA in mind and therefore rubbish grounds to watch rugby in. Also, there'd be little point using the Gaelic grounds in Limerick with Thomond being just round the corner. Once again, I'd like to stress I'm against us bidding alone, but if we were to do so I'd imagine we'd need:

Croke Park
Landsdowne Road
The RDS (only to be used for wee pool games as it's only about 10 minutes walk from the aviva)
Thomond
Ravenhill
Another new Stadium in Belfast, about 25,000 with a view to replacing Windsor Park
A new 20,000 stadium in Cork
A decent stadium in Galway, although I reckon Pearse stadium might be a bit big.
Somewhere to serve the midlands

Lots of work, because as I've stressed, GAA stadia should not be used.

Yea I know it's a stones throw from Gaelic Grounds to Thomond but was just pointing it is adequate.
Killarney can be redeveloped in time I think and be up to scratch and as I pointed I'd give 1 pools to Scotland with possibly Murrayfield, Hampden Park and Celtic Park as possible venues

 

[Seaton]

Glad Ireland can redevelop and refurbish all these stadia with the numerous bundles of money they have lying around.


Oh, wait...

 

[Feicarsinn]

Glad Ireland can redevelop and refurbish all these stadia with the numerous bundles of money they have lying around.


Oh, wait...

Exactly. Building three new stadiums isn't exactly going to be a popular suggestion in the current climate.

 

[munstermuffin]

Hey the Chinese dude is here visiting and he said we can "borrow" a few million off him

After all we named a cow in sixmilebridge after him

 

[Feicarsinn]

Yea I know it's a stones throw from Gaelic Grounds to Thomond but was just pointing it is adequate.
Killarney can be redeveloped in time I think and be up to scratch and as I pointed I'd give 1 pools to Scotland with possibly Murrayfield, Hampden Park and Celtic Park as possible venues

I think if we combined with Scotland we could do a bang up job together. If you had Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Aberdeen, Cork, Dundee, Galway and Limerick hosting matches I reckon it could be an excellent tournament. However I don't think the rugby interest exists in either country to go it alone.

And anyway, keeping the game alive in Scotland would be a good enough reason by itself for us to co-host with them.

 

[William18]

Yeah, Ireland and Scotland would be able to host a tournament. I would like that. I'm just not happy with the tournaments which seemed to be hosted by the whole of the UK.

I think it is good to expand the game by taking tournaments to new frontiers. You still have to have the traditional countries hosting the odd world cup. I would like to see one held in a more traditional country and then another in a country where rugby is growing.

 

[coonor]

Glad Ireland can redevelop and refurbish all these stadia with the numerous bundles of money they have lying around.


Oh, wait...

You need to remember this is a bid for the 2023 RWC. By that time I would expect the Irish economy and most other European economies to have picked up by then so I personally don't think money will be an issue come the time. Also the foundation of the infrastructure and stadiums is already in place so its more a question if upgrading rather than building from scratch.

I also think the benefits for Ireland far outweigh the costs both in economic terms and for sport in Ireland. Although I think Ireland will be capable of holding it and I would love to see it held there, It is dependent on the what other options there are.

 

[Teh Mite]

By that time I would expect the Irish economy and most other European economies to have picked up by then

I wouldn't bet on that. Not unless the Celtic new-born-kitten government massively hikes up corporation tax and dishes out that big bag of Punts they've already pressed. Stick with the Euro and they're f*cked until we've all passed on.

 

[coonor]

I wouldn't bet on that. Not unless the Celtic new-born-kitten government massively hikes up corporation tax and dishes out that big bag of Punts they've already pressed. Stick with the Euro and they're f*cked until we've all passed on.

Economies work in a cycle, a recession although in the short is obviously devastating in the long term can be beneficial as it restores balance to the economy which then leads to growth.

 

[Seaton]

I also think the benefits for Ireland far outweigh the costs both in economic terms and for sport in Ireland. Although I think Ireland will be capable of holding it and I would love to see it held there, It is dependent on the what other options there are.

Not having a go, but macro economics is not something one can just expect on.

The facts say that at the moment Ireland is ****ed economically. Not as much as Greece obviously but it will struggle to be in a healthy economic position in the next decade, the amount needed to host a world cup would be small change in comparison to what is needed to fix the current problem, but I highly doubt it would turn a profit or is even fiscally responsible in the current climate.

The West is screwed economically for the future, unless there is a major change in populations' mindsets Europe will never get out of consumer driven and thus liability inducing state it is in.

 

[Teh Mite]

In a fabricated sense, the previous boom relied on bullshit calculations based on over-inflated housing prices coupled onto spending money people simply didn't have. The borrowing exceeded the income as on a (western) worldwide scale the Brown and Bush encouraged excessive spending to distract the fact the Christmas pot ran out. Europe allegedly has a recovery plan in place (yeah, right), but as China and India are now doing the exact thing as Europe and America did 15 years ago - those people who effectively allowed the western markets to live like that by supplying the cheep labour - any recovery is out the window.

Anyway, enough politics. Yes, there is enough stadia space in Ireland if the GAA arena get upgraded. Otherwise they'll be leaning on the UK and France for assistance for venues.

Italy should be the next European hosts anyway.