The Irish Government is preparing in the coming weeks to "formally underwrite" €320M ($358M) to host the Rugby World Cup in '23, according to Juno McEnroe of the IRISH EXAMINER. Officials involved "are increasingly confident Ireland stands a strong chance of beating France, Italy, and South Africa to host the tournament." Money being guaranteed for the bid includes €120M ($134M) to host the tournament, while another €200M ($223.5M) will be underwritten for operational costs, "including redeveloping stadiums and policing." Applications for bids from the four competing countries for '23 "must be submitted by September." The formal letter from the government to guarantee the €320M must be submitted by Sept. 1 to the World Rugby Council, the body overseeing the selection process for the 20-nation tournament. Expenditure for the tournament "will be 85% guaranteed by Dublin and 15% by the North’s administration." However, Government sources said that they "expect that most of the funds will be recouped from the tournament." The 12 stadiums proposed for the competition bid, including a number of GAA venues, have now been finalized as part of the formal application. These include Croke Park, the Aviva stadium and the RDS in Dublin; Casement Park and Kingspan Stadium in Belfast; Pairc Uí Chaoimh in Cork; Thomond Park, Limerick; Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney; Pearse Stadium, Galway; McHale Park in Castlebar; Nowlan Park, Kilkenny; and Celtic Park in Derry. The operational costs for "redeveloping some of these venues and bringing them up to standards and sizes for the tournament" is estimated to cost in the region of €60M ($67M) (IRISH EXAMINER, 8/8).
