Up to 22,000 rugby fans are set to descend on the Capital for one of the sporting year's key weekends, with both the Heineken and Amlin Cup finals to be determined in Dublin. Event organisers have anticipated that the two events will bring a €21m revenue boost for Ireland.
The first of the fixtures will see Leinster up against Stade Francais on Friday 17 May for the Amlin Challenge Cup at the RDS, while Saturday 18 May will see Clermont Auvergne and Toulon fighting it out at the Heineken Cup, which is being played in Ireland for the first time in a decade. Merrion Square will serve as the supporter headquarters for match attendees, with a Champions Village opening to the public at noon on Saturday.
Further to that, the ERC, working with Irish tourism body Fáilte Ireland, has developed ''golden ticket' packet scheme, which offers both tickets to the match and a one-day pass to more than 30 attractions around the city
Pointing to the Year of the Gathering as a further element to proceedings, Derek McGrath ERC chief executive said, "This is a very exciting time, we've been working on this for 12 months. We're looking at 70,000 people watching both games."
