Twickenham has "been selected to host the final of the inaugural European Rugby Champions' Cup, the tournament which replaces the Heineken Cup, next May," according to Gavin Mairs of the London TELEGRAPH. The London venue is "understood to have been preferred to the Stade de France in Paris to host the showpiece event on the weekend of May 1-2." The final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition, will "also be held in London, with Harlequins' Stoop stadium, which has a capacity of 15,000, likely to host the game." Twickenham is "understood to be regarded as the safe option, given that it has the largest capacity at 83,000 and can generate the most revenue as it is solely owned by the Rugby Football Union." Tickets for the final, which will be broadcast by both BT Sport and Sky Sports, are "expected to go on sale next month" (TELEGRAPH, 8/12). REUTERS' Michael Hann reported the "new-look" Champions Cup, which replaces the Heineken Cup after a "long-running dispute between English and French clubs and the European Rugby Cup (ERC)," consists of 20 teams from the Six Nations countries. The decision to pick Twickenham as the host venue "comes as a blow to the Italian city of Milan which had been scheduled to host the 2015 Heineken Cup final at the San Siro" (REUTERS, 8/12).
