Having won the right to stage two of the most attractive fixtures in the 2015 Rugby World Cup organisers will next week unveil plans to ensure the city feels the long-term benefit from the tournament.
The Birmingham Rugby Partnership will next Thursday host a star-studded conference at Villa Park to discuss how best to ensure both Birmingham and the sport of rugby enjoy lasting legacy from the fact South Africa and Australia play matches here in two years time.
Over a single weekend in September 2015 Villa Park will stage the Springboks against Samoa and the Wallabies’ match up with a qualifier, the jewel in a six-week crown that will see part of the city centre given over to a fan park for the entirety of the tournament.
But Birmingham City Council and its partners on the BRP, which include West Midlands Police, Aston Villa, the RFU, clubs and schools, are keen to ensure that the ball keeps rolling once the tournament’s final whistle has sounded.
For that reason they are urging businesses and other interested parties to become part of the future of rugby in the city by attending the free event which runs from 9.30am on October 31, where they will be able to contribute ideas and hear those already put together leading oval ball luminaries.
To be part of main conference register at www.birminghamrugby.eventbrite.co.uk
