HAMILTON: Preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup are on track despite financial uncertainties arising from the global economic crisis, organisers said on Wednesday.

New Zealand will be hosting the tournament for the first time since the inaugural event in 1987, and top International Rugby Board (IRB) officials are in the country to review progress.

"I'm sure New Zealand 2011 will deliver yet another hugely successful and memorable chapter in the Rugby World Cup story," IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset said at a ceremony to mark the two-year countdown at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton.

IRB chief executive Mike Miller told AFP that international rugby was in good shape despite the financial crisis, although income from corporate hospitality was under pressure.

"I think the money is there, but some, particularly financial institutions, don't want to flaunt the cash at this point in time, so corporate hospitality is down a bit," he said.

Martin Snedden, chief executive of Rugby New Zealand 2011, a joint venture between the New Zealand Rugby Union and the government, said his organisation had budgeted for a loss of 30 million dollars (21 million US) for the tournament at the time of its successful 2005 bid.

It will only earn income from World Cup ticket sales, with the IRB collecting the rest of the revenue from sponsorship, television rights and other income.

"The budget (loss) still stands at around 30 million dollars, but it's undoubtedly under a wee bit of pressure," Snedden said.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he was not surprised about reports that the losses could eventually mount to 40 million dollars.

"Two years on, who knows, but my view is (the economy) will be in much better shape, so probably we should be thankful that it's a 2011 event and not a 2009 one," he told AFP.

He added he was confident that stadiums would be full despite ticket prices rising as high as an average 800 dollars for the final and around 350 dollars for quarter-finals.

"It's the kind of event that people may not get to see again for a very, very long time. In the end I think it's something that people will say I want to be part of," he said.

Key added that the government took a wider view of the tournament's success.

"We're confident this will be a great way to showcase New Zealand to billions of worldwide viewers and the 60,000-odd tourists that will come to New Zealand from overseas," he said.

It is estimated the World Cup would add 500 million dollars to the economy, with almost half going to the largest city Auckland.

Miller said preparations were going well ahead of the September 9, 2011 opening match.

The Eden Park stadium in Auckland, which will host the final and semi-finals, is six weeks ahead of schedule in an upgrade that will boost its capacity to 60,000 spectators.

A total of 20 teams will take part in 48 matches at 13 venues around New Zealand, culminating in the final on October 23.

At the time of their bid, New Zealand said the rapid growth of the tournament meant the country of four million may be too small to host it again after 2011.

The 60,000 foreign visitors expected to visit New Zealand compares with the 350,000 who went to France for the last World Cup in 2007.

But Miller said the decision to award the tournament to New Zealand was based on more than money.

"This is one of the homes of rugby. This is where the World Cup story began in 1987, so the IRB council felt it was important everyone has the opportunity to host the World Cup," he said.