Wales Makes Millenium Stadium Available To Host More 2015 Rugby World Cup Games

Wales is "ready to solve England’s Rugby World Cup ticketing headache" by staging more matches at the 84,500-seat Millennium Stadium, according to Rumsby & Clutton of the London TELEGRAPH. With the World Cup taking place across September and October, London's Wembley "would find it extremely difficult to accommodate more matches," particularly in the knockout phase because it is contracted to host NFL games at that time. Man City is "close to agreeing a deal to take only one of three games" that rivals ManU was pencilled in to stage, leaving World Cup organizers "to find a suitable home for another two." They could "turn to Newcastle and Leeds to retain the number of matches they had planned to bring to the North," although that could lead to scheduling issues because of the football season. St. James’ Park and Elland Road "are also not big enough to offset the ticket revenue lost by Old Trafford’s withdrawal" (TELEGRAPH, 4/5).