Tauranga is the best city in the country to host a team during the Rugby World Cup 2011 says Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Tim Burgess.
The city's marketing agency is confident that Tauranga will host a major team, despite it not being venue for any games during the tournament.



Tim says Tourism Bay of Plenty is working hard on maximising benefits for the region from the world cup and has a lot of great ideas in progress, 'We have a lot of irons in the fire.”
These ideas include attracting tour groups during the tournament, advertising the region on Air New Zealand's in flight entertainment system and bidding for the hosting rights of teams which would generate the best exposure for the region.
He says Tauranga is in a very strong position to secure a prominent team.
'Baypark's not being used, so it's unencumbered, making it a very attractive choice for a team.”
Aside from the classic selling points for Tauranga of good climate and facilities like Baywave, Tim says security and other possible interruptions are less of an issue in Tauranga than they would be in places which are hosting games.
The host cities for teams are expected to be announced before the end of this year.