World 7s lured by Totally Wellington

Media Release
15 September 1999

World 7s lured to the new stadium by Totally Wellington

The first rugby event at the WestpacTrust Stadium will be the World Rugby 7s Tournament in early February 2000 thanks to Totally Wellington.

“It’s all coming true,” says a delighted Mayor Mark Blumsky.

“First the Edinburgh Tattoo and now the World 7s – looks like the first year of the new millennium is going to be a bumper year for Wellington.

“We’ve only got these two amazing events because we’ve now got somewhere to put them and Totally Wellington has gone the hard yards, made the first approach and got the signatures on the dotted line.

“The stadium is a real case of ‘build it and they will come’. We predicted that if we provided a world-class venue of the right size, we could then lure big events from around the world to Wellington and that’s precisely what Totally Wellington and the Stadium Trust have achieved.

“In the past, Wellington has traditionally missed out on the big events because of the simple fact there was nowhere to put them. Now, those days are most definitely over and Wellington can take its rightful place as New Zealand’s premier city for major events.

“The bottom line is, there’s more than just a good time to be had out of these big events. Last year, a single test match – the All Blacks vs the Springboks – netted Wellington an estimated $8.3 million in totally new money spent in the city because of the game. The World 7s will provide a large and guaranteed windfall to the city and generate a ton of jobs.

“Big congratulations to everyone involved – you’ve given Wellington a great gift.”

ENDS

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