Heineken Cup Venue

[TerenureJim]

With the 2012 Final to be held in London I just thought I'd throw it out there to see what people would think of other less obvious venue cities being used to showcase the game.

I wouldn't mind seeing a final held in any of the following cities, all of which have stadia (i.e. one for the HCup and one for Amlin) and facilities (hotels, bars, transport etc.) that could easily handle the event.

Rome, Barcelona, Milan, Manchester, Brussels, Munich,Berlin, Florence, Marseilles, Madrid, Dortmund.

Could you imagine how good a final weekend in Barcelona would be with the Amlin in the Olympic Stadium and the HCup in the Camp Nou, Munich with the Amlin in the Olympic Stadium and the HCup in the Allianz Arena, or Rome with the Amlin in the Stadio Flaminio and the HCup in the Olympic Stadium?

The ultimate final weekend for me would be right here in Dublin, lets face facts no one beats us as a venue for entertaining visiting fans. Amlin in Lansdowne/RDS and HCup in Croker/Lansdowne depending on the precieved ticket demands.

[22dropout]

A lot of the cities you say definitely would make outstanding potential venues. There is a factor which the ERC must take into account now and that is Irish Fans are the only ones who will travel far enough distances in large enough numbers to fill a stadium. I think the ultimate nightmare scenario would be a repeat of the 2002/2003 final in Dublin where Perpigan played toulouse in front of 28k. Despite the tournament having moved on from then i still couldn't see them bringing much more than 5k each. It leaves the ERC needing the guts of 40k neutrals to go along.

One city and one area in particular which probably deserves a H cup final is the south of France. The stade velodrome in Marseilles is screaming out for a final and i for one would quite like to see the blue army march on that place for a weekend. You could host the Amlin in nearby cities such as montpellier or toulon.

[22dropout]

sorry repeat message!

[TerenureJim]

I was thinking about the 2002/03 final the other day on the way home from Cardiff and I wonder if that one has been put to bed regarding neutral interest and traveling French. The French seem to have really gotten on board with the Heineken Cup as more teams are targeting it as the big prize in the way Toulouse do every year. There were large numbers of French rugby supporters from Perpignan and Toulouse milling around at the final and I'd say there were others about that I didn't see. This coupled with the large number of supporters that turned up in Barcelona and San Sebastian this year surely shows increased interest?

[Skinfull]

Maybe I'm missing the glaringly obvious reasons but why not dublin? Have we even bid for it? We have the stadiums, croker/Aviva* and RDS for smaller Amlin final. Why dont we have one here? Would be great to go to a final and not have to fork over a boat load of money to another tourist industry!

*I'm guessing it has something to do with croker charging extortionate prices for venue rental and aviva not being big enough.

[johng]

*I'm guessing it has something to do with croker charging extortionate prices for venue rental and aviva not being big enough.

And the IRFU Being embarrassed if it had to go to Croker.

I think they knew that it would be the case before they built it, but they just couldn't cram in any more seats within the constraints of the planning laws/budget.

Perhaps with the recession and all the ERC might downsize some year? Not.

[Daithí Mac]

I'm pretty sure the ERC have confirmed at some stage that the Aviva will never be used for a HEC final due to its inadequate size. Croke park as you say would be extortionate and the GAA might not budge so much in the case it could be a Leicester Norhthampton Final for instance. Its a very unfortunate situation because Dublin and the Aviva are great places for rugby and have the hotel facilities to cater to it. As for other cities, it would have to be Ireland, Uk, France or Italy because it creates a lot of revenue, which those countries don't want to see going to the likes of Germany. Even Italy is a gamble as it doesn't have as much neutral rugby fans unlike the other countries. I'd like to see a final there though, or as someone has said, in the South of France.

[tate]

amsterdam arena.

you heard it here first.

[MelbourneRebel]

Might sound completely off the wall, but I wonder if a showcase game like this would capture the imagination in New York or LA?

I think Italy deserves a chance to host a final to be honest.

[Leezer]

I'm pretty sure the ERC have confirmed at some stage that the Aviva will never be used for a HEC final due to its inadequate size.

where'd you hear that?

I dont think the ERC will be ruling out the Aviva since they probably make most of their money from Irish Fans.


EDIT - just did a quick google and there are 2 articles with no negativity towards the Aviva........

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/kfmhkfsnmhmh/rss2/
http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/6431.php

[TerenureJim]

I'm pretty sure the ERC have confirmed at some stage that the Aviva will never be used for a HEC final due to its inadequate size.

where'd you hear that?

I dont think the ERC will be ruling out the Aviva since they probably make most of their money from Irish Fans.


EDIT - just did a quick google and there are 2 articles with no negativity towards the Aviva........

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/kfmhkfsnmhmh/rss2/
http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/6431.php

Two fairly dated articles and one clearly points towards Italy getting their first taste. Clearly a Croker HCup/ Lansdowne Amlin is what we all want to see but I think that's got to be a long shot unless people think outside the box. That rarely happens.

[tate]

I'm pretty sure the ERC have confirmed at some stage that the Aviva will never be used for a HEC final due to its inadequate size.

where'd you hear that?

I dont think the ERC will be ruling out the Aviva since they probably make most of their money from Irish Fans.


EDIT - just did a quick google and there are 2 articles with no negativity towards the Aviva........

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/kfmhkfsnmhmh/rss2/
http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/6431.php

Two fairly dated articles and one clearly points towards Italy getting their first taste. Clearly a Croker HCup/ Lansdowne Amlin is what we all want to see but I think that's got to be a long shot unless people think outside the box. That rarely happens.

i know i speak for a few people when i say i hope we never play in croker again. We're too far from the pitch and that dilutes the atmosphere too much. Fantastic stadium, and we had some great days there but it's playing surface is too big for it to be a good rugby stadium.

Besides, it's on DNS.

[Leezer]

i know i speak for a few people when i say i hope we never play in croker again. We're too far from the pitch and that dilutes the atmosphere too much. Fantastic stadium, and we had some great days there but it's playing surface is too big for it to be a good rugby stadium.

Besides, it's on DNS.

you can speak for me.

[Scott]

I think Italy deserves a chance to host a final to be honest.

this

[Leezer]

San Siro over Olympico due to the stupid running track

[Sauvignon Blank]

San Siro over Olympico due to the stupid running track

Milano is a cracking city and the San Siro is easily accessible by Trams but up the top tiers is absolutely terrible. Like watching ants down below.

[TerenureJim]

Milano is a cracking city and the San Siro is easily accessible by Trams but up the top tiers is absolutely terrible. Like watching ants down below.

So it's like Devin Toner's view of everone else on the pitch then?

[Daithí Mac]

I can't remember where I saw it but I definitely recall seeing it somewhere. Its a big step down capacity wise from the Milennium, Twickenham and Stade de France although its respectable compared to Murrayfield.

[combatlogo]

ERC have not ruled out Aviva as a venue. It will never be held in Croker.

Marseille is a shithole, Italy or Barca would be superb.

[RavenhillRaider]

Maybe I'm missing the glaringly obvious reasons but why not dublin? Have we even bid for it? We have the stadiums, croker/Aviva* and RDS for smaller Amlin final. Why dont we have one here? Would be great to go to a final and not have to fork over a boat load of money to another tourist industry!

*I'm guessing it has something to do with croker charging extortionate prices for venue rental and aviva not being big enough.

We did bid for this years one but were denied because the wendyball final was happening a few days before.