CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S OPERATIONAL REVIEW
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It is our aim to maximise revenues for the benefit of the entire game and the redevelopment of the southern end of Twickenham Stadium has been under way since July 2005. As with all major building projects, we experienced one or two problems and difficulties but it is a massive credit to everybody involved, on the Steering Group and on site, that these have been well managed enabling us to complete the lower tier in time for the Six Nations in 2006 and to complete the full stadium bowl on time for the New Zealand celebration match on 5 November 2006.This saw the capacity increase to a record 82,000.
The ‘shell and core’ of the whole development was completed in September 2007 and fitting out of the various commercial facilities is now in hand. By next year’s autumn internationals we will see the stadium in its final impressive form. We are running a little bit later on the total project than hoped, due to the difficulties encountered, and consequently costs have risen but we are managing our costs well and revenue streams will be higher than we originally thought.
During reconstruction we have continued to make the stadium work hard, with Rod Stewart, Genesis and the Police appearing in a total of four concerts. With Wembley opened for business, the success of these concerts illustrates the competitive nature of Twickenham Stadium as a concert venue. And with a busy schedule of concerts and matches requiring quick and efficient turnarounds the Twickenham staff put in some sterling work.
Our crackdown on black market tickets continues and presently companies are tendering for the renewal of official hospitality licences at Twickenham, with current licences expiring at the end of the 2007/08 season. The official operators scheme has generated, directly and indirectly, significant additional funding for investment in the community game.
The grassroots of the game continue to be strong as evidenced by an overall growth in participation levels shown in the annual RFU Questionnaire. There was, however, a slight decline in adult numbers. This I anticipate being righted by our million-pound Go Play Rugby project, which aims to attract adult players. The campaign was officially launched by the Chairman of Sport England at a House of Commons reception in July attended by the new sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe.
We are delighted that the National Sports Foundation contributed half a million pounds in support of the project, with strong support also from the Chelsea Building Society and the Rugby Football Foundation.
We have also launched the Constituent Bodies (CBs) schools of rugby programme this year, with 28 schools now established to form an important link in the revised academy structure that Connor O’Shea and Rob Andrew will put in place once the current academy agreements expire.
While we are keen to develop English players, the development of rugby in other nations is also tremendously important. The Barclays Churchill Cup, part of the strategic development agreement we have with USA Rugby and Rugby Canada, has made a significant contribution to the development of rugby in North America and the IRB has now adopted this model elsewhere, with similar tournaments in the Pacific and Europe involving tier one nations in helping tier two nations’ development. The tournament was played in England this year, with England Saxons beating New Zealand Maori to take the trophy.
Our subsidiary and joint venture companies continue to expand their business, providing a service to fans while bringing in additional revenue for the game. Twickenham Experience Limited had a further strong year and England Rugby Travel, the new rugby travel joint venture set up a year ago, has made a very successful start. We look forward to the opening of the South Stand’s London Marriott Hotel Twickenham and the Virgin Active Classic Health Club next year.
On the negative side, merchandise sales continue to be difficult. The new England shirt for the Rugby World Cup brought a fillip to sales but highlighted the connection between sales and results when sales slumped for 24 hours following defeat by the Springboks to recover threefold when England beat Samoa. The inspiring win against Australia in the quarter finals gave sales a further big boost, and this continued all the way to the final, with the World Cup shirt selling out immediately after the Australia match, leaving fans eager to buy England home shirts.
The Gillette Rugby Podcast weekly audio magazine launched last November has
The grassroots of the game continue to be strong as evidenced by an overall growth in participation levels shown in the annual RFU Questionnaire
