The Irish Rugby Football Union is stepping up preparations for the bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup by advertising for the provision of bid management services on the Government’s e-tenders website.
The pre-qualification questionnaire outlines a requirement for a variety of services from financial modelling, tournament planning, public affairs, accommodation and hospitality strategy and ticketing policy.
There is also a requirement for economic impact and regional development impact assessments and planning for a legacy to be left behind by the event.
This is obviously a complex project with high stakes in terms of the bid costs as well as the potential sporting and economic return to Ireland from success.
This initial stage of the search for consultant partners is aimed at a high level with a need for those going onto the next stage to have demonstrated their ‘experience in providing the services or similar services to those required in relation to successful bids for international sporting events of the scale, or larger than the Rugby World Cup.‘
Those groups bidding for the right to be part of the selection process must demonstrate annual turnover of more than €2 million per annum and carry professional indemnity insurance of €20 million.
The bid has received positive encouragement from people behind the successful pitches to host the World Cup in 2011 in New Zealand and 2015 in England.
“I believe that Ireland is one of few countries that could actually deliver on the International Rugby Board’s desire to host the games in a nation that can actually further the tournament’s brand,” said Martin Sneddon who led the team behind the New Zealand hosting.
“No longer does it work that a sporting organisation runs an event by itself. It needs partnership and relationships in every direction, not least with government at local and national level.”
The relationship with the GAA will also be crucial as there are not sufficient capacity stadia within Rugby alone to stage a bid.
That is not a hindrance as the same applied to England ahead of this October’s hosting.
“Like Ireland with the GAA collaboration, we had only four or five rugby stadiums so had to collaborate with the Premier League and will be hosting games in St. James Park, Elland Road, Manchester City Stadium and others,” said Lawrence Dallaglio a member of the England bid team when he was in Ireland last year for the European Sports Tourism Summit.
There are a number of international companies based in London and elsewhere that specialise in the kind of bid support services sought as part of this process.
Most will have been involved to a greater or lesser degree in hosting the London Olympics, Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup to have, or shortly to be taking place within our near neighbour countries. It is likely that the Aer Lingus routes between Heathrow and Dublin will be heavily utilised during the course of the bidding process.
Locally, the big management consultancy practices such as PwC, Accenture and Deloitte may also see themselves as having the capacity and the reach to step up as part of a bid.
Submissions for the pre-qualification phase are sought by the end of this month and the timetable for bids was outlined last month on Sport for Business.
The expression of interest phase of the process will be launched on 14 May, 2015 and close on 15 June, 2015, providing prospective hosts with a year to benefit from the detailed knowledge-sharing and preparation window ahead of the release of tender documentation in May 2016.
A new step in the process will see interested unions invited to participate in a workshop in June 2015 to discuss all aspects of Rugby World Cup hosting. Detailed tender information will be sent to all interested unions in May 2016, while the deadline for confirmation of a union to tender has been set for June 2016.
The announcement of the Rugby World Cup 2023 host union in May 2017 will provide the successful country with six years to deliver the event and maximise the benefits of observing the delivery of Japan 2019, the first Rugby World Cup to be hosted in Asia.
There will be valuable lessons to be learned from the local cooperation brought together by the FAI in bidding to host matches as part of the Euro 2020 soccer tournament. It is to be hoped that this bid will build on the success of others and deliver the biggest sporting event that Ireland has ever hosted or perhaps even dread to dream of doing so.
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