Rugby WCup boss to learn from Delhi`s `missed opportunity`

Wellington: India`s experience hosting the Commonwealth Games provided valuable lessons for New Zealand

in the lead-up to next year`s Rugby World Cup, the tournament chief said on Thursday. Rugby NZ 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden said the Games in New Delhi were "better than many expected, but will probably go down in history as a missed opportunity for both the event and the host country". "During the lead-up there were some very early warning signs that things weren`t right or, perhaps more accurately, weren`t perceived to be right," Snedden said in the tournament`s monthly newsletter. He cited controversy over the standard of athletes` accommodation, the collapse of a pedestrian footbridge at the main stadium two weeks before the opening ceremony and security concerns -- which eventually proved unfounded. "A key lesson for us is the importance of the host country engendering widespread confidence in its ability to deliver something special," Snedden said. He said New Zealand had been transparent about the progress of preparations at World Cup venues, with major upgrades already completed in Auckland and Christchurch and construction of a new stadium in Orago on schedule. Using ticket sales as a gauge of public confidence in the event, Snedden said more than 500,000 had so far been purchased, around 20 percent by overseas rugby fans. However, he said there concerns, particularly internationally, about New Zealand`s ability to accommodate large numbers of overseas visitors and the prospect of price gouging. "We are not ignoring these," Snedden said, adding that tournament organisers were warning accommodation providers about the dangers of overpricing and giving advice to overseas visitors on where they could find a place to stay. "There is absolutely no room for complacency," he said. Prime Minister John Key also expressed concerns about price gouging at the tournament earlier this month, warning it risked damaging the country`s reputation as a travel destination. Bureau Report