Murrayfield matches worth £50m to economy of Capital

MATCHES played at Murrayfield Stadium will be worth over £50 million to the Edinburgh economy in the coming year, a new economic impact study has found.

Test matches against South Africa and New Zealand, the RBS Six Nations Championship and last month's Barcelona v Hibs friendly are among events expected to make it a bumper 2008/09 season for the stadium.

The economic impact study, by academics at Napier University, attempts to show the benefit that games at the stadium bring to city hotels, bars and restaurants.

But the total benefit is expected to be given a further boost by the showpiece Heineken Cup Final and Rugby League's "Magic Weekend", neither of which were included, as they had not been confirmed at the time that the study was commissioned.

Gordon McKie, Scottish Rugby's chief executive, said: "We're massively proud of our stadium and the contribution it makes to the economy of Edinburgh and Scotland.

"Our intention, working with partners from both the public and private sectors, is to bring more world-class events to our stadium and extend the benefits for rugby and the wider community."

As well as the economic benefit to Edinburgh, Murrayfield events were said to be worth £100m to the Scottish economy.

Although an individual economic impact breakdown for each event was not available, previous research for Scottish Rugby has found that one home Six Nations match is worth about £10m to the Edinburgh economy.

Simon Williams, chief executive of the Edinburgh Principal Hotels Association, said major Six Nations matches often resulted in hotels reaching full occupancy.

He said: "Rugby weekends, particularly when the match is on a Saturday, are a major boost to trading, occupancy and all business, especially since they happen off-season.

"The autumn tests are particularly good, because it is a good time to have a short city break.

"Scottish Rugby is looking at ways to bring more events there, and it has been trying to pick times that are good for the availability of accommodation, so it's good to see the stadium getting used more."

A month of rugby will take place next May at Murrayfield that will see fans from across the globe converge on the Capital. Rugby League's Magic Weekend, on May 2 and 3, is expected to be worth £4.2m to the city, while rugby officials say the Heineken Cup Final could bring in £20m for bars, hotels and restaurants.

Scottish Rugby is currently working with VisitScotland, EventScotland and the Edinburgh City Council to make arrangements for the co-ordinated marketing of next May's series of events, which also include the Emirates Airline 7s. It is hoped that the marketing strategy will see other events in the city promoted under the same banner.

Sinead Guerin, VisitScotland's regional director, said: "Murrayfield is a fantastic facility, drawing visitors and bringing tourism revenue into Edinburgh. We know that around 40 per cent of visitors include an event as part of their trip, so to have a world-class stadium in the city is a great asset.

"I'm sure anyone who has enjoyed the unique atmosphere of an international rugby match at Murrayfield will feel as proud of it as I do, and with the ability to attract fantastic non-rugby events too, I'm sure it will go from strength to strength."

Paul Bush, chief operating officer at EventScotland, said: "Major events are big business for Scotland and today's news illustrates this fact."

Top-up set to go towards grassroots game

PROFITS from the sale of alcohol at Murrayfield are to be reinvested into grassroots rugby.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, right, was today due to visit Lismore Rugby Club at Inch Park, almost a year after licensing restrictions at the national stadium were dropped, to see how community rugby will benefit.

Scottish Rugby said it would top up the up the alcohol profits to give a total of £100,000 in participation funds to local clubs.

Rugby chiefs said they wanted to make sure the money derived from the sale of alcohol is invested back into the game at a grassroots level.

Bars were set up at the stadium for international matches for the first time in 25 years in the two home World Cup ties against Romania and the All Blacks last September.

Gordon McKie, Scottish Rugby chief executive, said: "Being a licensed venue is crucial to securing events and enhancing the festival atmosphere you get when you come to Murrayfield.

"We are delighted to be able to top up our inaugural net revenues with an additional financial contribution from our own resources to create increased participation monies of £100,000 for our clubs."