BY JOHN DAVIDSON
International Rugby League (IRL) chair Troy Grant has admitted that the postponement of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup for 12 months cost £11 million and that the tournament’s ticketing strategy failed.
The World Cup was pushed back a year, and eventually staged in the UK in October and November 2022, after pressure from Australia, New Zealand and the NRL clubs over safety concerns and Covid-19 to withdraw in 2021.
The 61 men’s, women’s and wheelchair games were watched by a combined attendance of 473,477, but the original ambitious target was for 750,000 ticket sales.
Grant conceded that while the tournament was still a success in terms of sponsorship, inclusivity and that it made budget, the postponement caused an £11 million loss that was covered by the UK government.
“We’ve calculated the postponement cost the tournament around £11 million,” Grant told the Beers with Brownie YouTube series.
“We were lucky that we had wonderful support from the UK government and they’ve essentially covered off what would have been a loss to make sure that the tournament met budget.
“So the tournament’s met budget and it’s been able to pay its bills. They’re still finalising accounts, that process is still ongoing, but yes it was a financial success because the IRL got its rights fee, no one’s bankrupt and it met budget.
“But unfortunately it could have been an £11 million better outcome if we’ve not had the postponement or the pandemic- and the economic crisis.”
Grant said the World Cup was not as successful in selling tickets as hoped because of the impact of the cost of living crisis and the culture of late ticket buying in UK rugby league.
“It was not as successful as it could have been. There’s a culture that I’ve learned in England where the fan waits for last-minute cut-price ticket sales, well that wasn’t the business model the Word Cup took,” he said.
“They offered tickets at the front-end, this was pre-Covid, there was great deals on but the market in England were late buyers, late-turner-uppers to get those deals, which weren’t on offer.
“Which I think had an impact on ticket buying. In addition to that the cost of living there, seriously, I’d fill up my car and I was astounded at how much it cost.
“So people were making a choice about whether they paid their electricity bill or bought a ticket for the World Cup.
“And you can’t just ignore that as an impact.
“It’s not anybody’s fault… Was it a financial success in terms of ticket sales? No.”
Grant said last year’s World Cup was a success in terms of hosting three tournaments at the same time and in regards of the sponsorship income it generated.
“It was the first time our three disciplines had been held together – men’s, women’s and wheelchair, and that was a first for world sport,” he said.
“So from that point of view, from an inclusivity point of view, for the promotion of our sport to the reach and impact it had, absolute success.
“Massive success. World-first, beautifully executed…. it had an Olympic feel to it.
“How do you put a value on that? How do you bottle that and take that to the next event is a trick and a challenge.
“[Also] we had more sponsors and commercial revenue than we’ve had before, and from brand-new people who’d never invested in the game before. So that was a big tick.”
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