It’s now just over two years until the Rugby World Cup is staged in New Zealand.

The biggest impact is likely to be in Auckland where there will be eight games including the semi finals and final at Eden Park. But stadia throughout the country are gearing up for other matches and the opportunities that will surround them.

It is tricky to accurately predict the long term opportunities events such as the World Cup will create. Some businesses will pick up trade that will be ongoing; others will boom for the period of the cup and then disappear.

An interesting example is the Auckland suburb of Kingsland that coped with huge crowds during the Lions tour in 2005. The tour was almost a dry run for the World Cup. The area’s bars, cafes and restaurants have continued to thrive and will boom even further during the 2011 matches at nearby Eden Park. A new eating strip to rival Ponsonby has actually arrived.

Companies such as the breweries have already been positioning themselves in commercial spaces in the Eden Park area to run bars, cafes and restaurants.

There is no doubt such a huge event generates opportunities, from retail through to accommodation and all the support services and related products in between. The rumours about the chance to rent places out at exorbitant rates abound.

While there will be significant impacts on commercial space in and around stadia and nearby CBDs, there may well be a very short term boom.

It will be critical to do some careful analysis about the benefits and impacts the World Cup with have on the commercial property lease market.

Regardless of the scale or longevity of any opportunities, there will be a significant blip on the radar throughout 2011. It would be wise to plan for a range of scenarios if you see an opportunity or are in an area that will be impacted by the buzz the matches will create.

But it is worth a note of caution to recall the ghost towns that have sometimes been left behind after the short term excitement of huge events such as the Olympic Games. It is always worth posing the question: “What happens next?”

Tags: commercial property lease, commercial property leasing, Property Leasing, retail property leasing, Rugby World Cup

This entry was posted on Tuesday 14th July 2009 and is filed under Property Leasing. Both comments and pings are currently closed.