Alan Gilpin expressed confidence in Japan's ability to accommodate 400,000 overseas fans.GETTY IMAGES
Rugby World Cup Tournament Dir Alan Gilpin admitted Thursday that Japan's 12 host cities "have yet to fully grasp the scale" of the '19 event but "expressed confidence that they will be able to cope when an estimated 400,000 overseas fans" arrive in 15 months' time, according to Andrew McKirdy of the JAPAN TIMES. Gilpin said, "I think, in the nicest possible sense, they probably don't know what's coming. And that's great, because they don't even yet see the size of the opportunity they have to really showcase the stadiums and their cities and their communities to an international audience. I think what we can say is that we're confident that over the next 15 months we'll get them there. The host cities are working very closely with the organizing committee across a whole range of areas. We're certainly confident. We've got the time, the opportunity and the right program in place to get there." RWC organizers project the competition's overall impact on the economy will be 437.2B yen ($3.95B). Organizers have already received 2 million ticket applications since the process began in January -- more than the 1.8 million tickets that will be available for sale (JAPAN TIMES, 6/14).
