Buy now, pay later for $800 World Cup tickets

Rugby fans will be offered a six-month interest-free repayment plan for tickets to the Rugby World Cup final. Photo / Richard Robinson

Rugby fans keen to get their hands on top-priced tickets for the 2011 World Cup will be offered a six-month interest-free repayment plan.

Cup organisers want to help recession-hit Kiwis swallow the idea of paying more than $800 a ticket for the final.

Ticket prices won't formally be announced until November but are expected to be similar to those at the 2007 cup in France.

Average prices then were around $350 for the quarter-finals, $600 for the semis and $800 for the final.

But Rugby World Cup 2011 chief Martin Snedden said the higher-end tickets would be balanced by a range of more affordable options to make it as easy as possible for New Zealanders to attend games.

Up to 32 of the 48 matches would have prices similar to a regular test, and some would be close to Super 14 ticket prices.

Half-price tickets for pool matches would also be available for children, although only 3000 to 4000 per game would be available at that rate.

Mr Snedden said a repayment plan had always been on the agenda because the ticket prices were going to be an issue.

But the recession had put an even greater emphasis on making it affordable.

"We are hoping that people think we have got a fair balance."

Mr Snedden said it was also hoped the measures would help with limiting the expected loss of running the tournament to the forecast $30 million.

He said ticket sales were the only revenue Rugby World Cup 2011 would get from the tournament and he remained nervous about that.

More than half of the 1.7 million tickets available are expected to be bought by Kiwis.

Mr Snedden said the first tickets would go on sale early next year through the official travel packages sold via official agents.

Those agents are expected to be named soon and will visit New Zealand next month.

Public tickets won't be available until April.