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Wellington - Organisers of the 2011 Rugby World Cup announced ticket prices on Friday which hopes to contain the deficit New Zealand will incur in hosting the tournament while ensuring full stadiums.
Tickets will range in price from between 15 New Zealand dollars ($11) for children and NZ$30 ($22) for adults at some pool games to between NZ$390 ($280) and NZ$1 250 ($900) for the Cup final at Auckland's Eden Park.
Rugby World Cup 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden said pricing reflected the status of the tournament as one of the world's premier sporting events while making tickets accessible to the New Zealand and global public.
Organisers faced criticism that top-end ticket prices are too high for most New Zealanders whose average wage is around NZ$30 000 ($21 600). Snedden said prices were comparative to those charged at the 2007 World Cup in France and in line with other major global sporting events.
Tournament organizers announced a payment plan Friday - a first for the Rugby World Cup - which would allow New Zealanders to pay for tickets in installments. Snedden said that plan would make tickets, which go on sale in April 2010, accessible to most Kiwis.
"RWC 2011 is one of the world's greatest sporting events and will be a once in a lifetime opportunity in such a rugby-loving country as New Zealand," Snedden said.
The 2011 Cup, which will begin in September that year, is expected to run at a NZ$40 million ($29 million) deficit, two-thirds of which will be funded by taxpayers and one third by the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Under Rugby World Cup hosting arrangements, the International Rugby Board takes all revenues from television rights, hosting fees, sponsorship and merchandising while the host country is only able to recoup costs through ticket sales.
