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 Portal Navigation DHL NZ Lions Series |
FAQ
THE SERIES
Who are the British and Irish Lions? How many people are expected to come to New Zealand for the DHL NZ Lions Series? Will New Zealand's accommodation and transport facilities be able to cope with the influx? How much money will the Lions tour bring into New Zealand? TICKETING What is a ballot? Why are you running a ballot? Who is running the ballot? Who is eligible to register for the ballot? What about New Zealanders living overseas who want to come home for the Lions tour? How does the ballot work? How do the weightings work in the ballot? How can I check whether I live within the match province? How many times can I register? How many tickets are available? How much do tickets cost? How did you determine the price of the tickets? How many tickets can I get from the ballot pool? Who is eligible for a children's ticket? Why do I have to wait until November to register my interest? Why do the Lions fans get so many tickets? Why are members of the Rugby Community, season pass holders and fans in local areas getting preferential treatment? Who exactly is a member of the Rugby Community? What happens after the ballot is run? How do I pay for tickets? How will I receive my tickets? Can I return tickets? What happens if there are tickets left over? What type of system are you using to draw the ballot and how can I trust that it will be fair? GENERAL If I think I should be on the Rugby Community Database, how can I check? Why do the NZRU's sponsors get tickets? Are NZRU staff and NZ Post staff allowed to enter the ballot? FURTHER INFORMATION/QUESTIONS For more 2005 Lions Series information & questions click here THE SERIES Who are the British and Irish Lions? The British and Irish Lions are a combined rugby team made up of the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although officially established in 1910, combined British Isles sides have been visiting the southern hemisphere since 1888, when the first team toured Australia and New Zealand. The tour will be the 11th by the Lions to New Zealand and the first rugby tour to New Zealand in the professional era. The Lions last toured New Zealand in 1993. Back to Top How many people are expected to come to New Zealand for the DHL NZ Lions Series? The NZRU estimates that 15,000 people will be coming from overseas for the Lions tour. The majority of them will be coming for the three Tests. Back to Top Will New Zealand's accommodation and transport facilities be able to cope with the influx? The NZRU is working with tourism and local body organisations to ensure the country is ready for the Lions tour. For example, a cruise ship has been booked by one travel agent to accommodate up to 1200 people in Wellington as a floating hotel. Wellington is expected to be full on the night of the Wellington Test match so Wellington City Council has granted a late-night airport curfew so hundreds of other fans can fly out of the city. Tourism authorities say it will be "business as usual" in many parts of the country. Back to Top How much money will the Lions tour bring into New Zealand? According to Tourism New Zealand figures, each tourist spends more than $3000 when they visit New Zealand. A conservative estimate will see the Lions tour worth around $50 million to the New Zealand economy. Back to Top TICKETING What is a ballot? A ballot is a system used to allocate places in a situation where demand exceeds supply. It is often used for ticketing at major events when there is a huge demand for tickets. Events and organisations which use public or similar ballots for tickets include Wimbledon, the Rugby World Cup, England rugby matches and a number of English soccer clubs. The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which holds the Wimbledon Championships, has been holding a public ballot for tickets since 1924. Back to Top Why are you running a ballot? Tickets to rugby matches in New Zealand are usually sold on a first-in, first-served basis. However, given that the NZRU is anticipating an unprecedented demand for tickets to the Lions matches, where demand will far exceed supply, the NZRU has decided that a public ballot is the fairest way of giving all New Zealanders the chance to see the Lions team play. Back to Top Who is running the ballot? The NZRU is running the ballot in conjunction with NZ Post and its ticketing subsidiary, Red Tickets. Back to Top Who is eligible to register for the ballot? Anyone who is resident in New Zealand and who is at least 16 years of age will be eligible to register in the ballot. Members of the Rugby Community who are under the age of 16 can enter the ballot by providing the details of their parents or guardians. Back to Top What about New Zealanders living overseas who want to come home for the Lions tour? You have to be resident in New Zealand to register for tickets. If you are in the UK or Europe the best thing to do is to contact one of the British and Irish Lions' official travel agents and register your interest. The official travel companies are as follows:
How does the ballot work? The ballot will be a fully automated process developed by NZ Post and their ticketing subsidiary, Red Tickets, and will be overseen by the NZRU. Members of the public can register for the ballot in two ways: 1. Via the website, www.lions.co.nz. 2. By picking up a registration form from the more than 330 NZ Post Shops throughout the country. The registration period will run from 1 November 2004 until 24 December 2004. No registrations will be accepted before or after this period. The ballot will be run in February 2005. Fans who have been successful in securing tickets will be contacted in the weeks following the draw. Back to Top How do the weightings work in the ballot? The NZRU has determined that there will be different "weightings" for different groups in the ballot. Simply put, if you are a member of the Rugby Community, a season pass holder or live within a provincial union where the Lions are playing a provincial match, you will have a greater chance in the ballot. The weightings for Lions provincial matches are as follows:
How can I check whether I live within the match province? Your local provincial union will be able to tell you whether your address falls within the provincial union boundary. Back to Top How many times can I register? You can only register once for the ballot. NZ Post will be closely monitoring any attempts to register more than once for the ballot. Back to Top How many tickets are available? The NZRU estimates that there will be approximately 150,000 tickets available in the ballot. It is important to note that a significant proportion of the tickets have already been allocated for season pass holders, the British and Irish Lions organisation, the travel industry and provincial unions. It is also worth noting that the number of tickets in the ballot may change when final figures from season pass holders and hospitality and travel package providers are confirmed later in the year. Back to Top How much do tickets cost? Ticket prices have been determined by the NZRU in consultation with host unions and range from $10 for a children's ticket to three of the provincial matches up to $300 for a premium-level ticket to any of the Test matches. Back to Top How did you determine the price of the tickets? A number of factors were taken into account when the NZRU determined the price range of tickets. These included the unique nature of the Lions tour as a once-in-a-decade event, demand for tickets, prices for other overseas and local sporting and entertainment events, the costs involved in securing the British and Irish Lions Tour and the operational costs involved in running what will be a major logistical event. Back to Top How many tickets can I get from the ballot pool? For Test matches, you can secure a maximum of two tickets from the ballot pool. For all other matches, you can secure a maximum of four tickets. Back to Top Who is eligible for a children's ticket? Anyone who has yet to turn 16 years of age on the day of the match for which the children's ticket has been purchased. Back to Top Why do I have to wait until November to register my interest? The NZRU and NZ Post will be ready to take registrations during that period. The NZRU is presently working with provincial unions and season pass holders as well as travel agents and Lions Hospitality 2005 to ascertain the exact number of tickets available in the public ballot. Back to Top Why do the Lions fans get so many tickets? As part of the commercial tour agreement signed with the British and Irish Lions, the NZRU has to provide a number of seats to the Lions organisation to sell to their supporters. The British and Irish Lions is a unique team that only plays outside of the UK and only every four years, and its tours are run on a commercial arrangement. The Lions have been allocated 8,000 seats for each of the three Tests. The Lions also have a smaller allocation at each of the provincial matches. Back to Top Why are members of the Rugby Community, season pass holders and fans in local areas getting preferential treatment? The NZRU would like to acknowledge the commitment and support of those involved in rugby in New Zealand, including volunteers, players and administrators. As well, the NZRU recognises that provincial fans who support their provincial team year-in, year-out deserve a greater chance of seeing their provincial team take on the Lions. That is why these groups will have preferential weightings in the ballot. Back to Top Who exactly is a member of the Rugby Community? For the purpose of the public ballot, the following groups are included in the definition of "Rugby Community":
What happens after the ballot is run? After the ballot is drawn during February 2005, NZ Post staff will start contacting each successful applicant. This process is expected to take up to five weeks. NZ Post staff will contact successful applicants on their nominated phone number. If you are called and offered Lions match tickets, you will be expected to accept or refuse the tickets at that time. If you refuse the ticket offer completely, your tickets will be returned to the ballot pool and the highest-ranked unsuccessful applicant whose ticket preferences match the defaulted tickets will be offered those tickets. You will have the option of buying fewer tickets than you initially requested, with any tickets declined going back into the ballot pool. Back to Top How do I pay for tickets? Once you have accepted the ticket offer you will have 48 hours to pay the full amount. This will be equal to the sum of the tickets' face value, which will fall into the range communicated to you when you registered, plus a booking fee and courier fee. You will be able to pay:
Back to Top How will I receive my tickets? Tickets will be delivered by courier via New Zealand's four major ticketing agencies in their respective regions from mid-April 2005. Back to Top Can I return tickets? Match tickets for the 2005 Lions Tour will be sold on a no-refunds basis. Back to Top What happens if there are tickets left over? The Lions tour is shaping up as a hugely popular sporting event and it is expected that all 11 matches will sell out at some point during the ballot process. If, however, there are tickets remaining for a particular match then NZ Post staff will contact people who did not receive any tickets through the original ballot process with a ticket offer. This may not match their initial ticket preferences. Back to Top What type of system are you using to draw the ballot and how can I trust that it will be fair? NZ Post and its ticketing subsidiary, Red Tickets, have developed a unique computer system for the ballot and there will be rigorous testing before the ballot is run. The ballot will also be audited by an independent third party. Back to Top GENERAL If I think I should be on the Rugby Community Database, how can I check? Contact your local provincial union who will look after the registration on your behalf. Back to Top Why do the NZRU's sponsors get tickets? The All Blacks' sponsors - adidas, Steinlager, Air New Zealand, Coke, Ford, MasterCard, Philips, Telecom and Sanitarium - are an extremely important group to New Zealand rugby and fund a substantial proportion of New Zealand's national rugby programmes. As part of their commercial agreements with the NZRU they get an allocation of tickets to NZRU matches. Back to Top Are NZRU staff and NZ Post staff allowed to enter the ballot? NZRU staff will not be entering the ballot as they receive tickets already. NZ Post staff will be allowed to enter the ballot. Back to Top FURTHER INFORMATION/QUESTIONS For more 2005 Lions Series information & questions click here |
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