KEY POINTS:
Blues officials are nervous about the possibility of a $1 million windfall slipping through their fingers as the side drifts off the Super 14 pace in South Africa.
Staging a capacity crowd semifinal at Eden Park could post a $1 million profit for the franchise but successive defeats - the last one the 33-20 loss to the Stormers - make one wonder if the Blues will qualify as a playoff host.
Just one victory for New Zealand sides in Africa this season has added to the uncertainty as the Blues prepare to meet the Bulls who are also gunning for a place in the final four.
Also in the reckoning are the Sharks who, in theory, have an easier run to the end of the series with matches against the Lions and Stormers.
"We are left with little option but to win our last two games," Blues chief executive Andy Dalton said yesterday. "From a team perspective, we set some goals and we were well on the way to achieving those when things unravelled. I am not sure the team is focused on the financial benefits but they are well aware of the advantages of being able to play on Eden Park in a semifinal. That destiny is in our own hands."
Under Sanzar's financial arrangements for the playoffs, the hosts pay the visiting team A$100,000 ($111,960) for a semifinal and A$125,000 for the final. The hosts keep the gate receipts less the ground costs, hotels, airfares and all the overheads in staging the game - which can run to as much as $500,000.
If a playoff ticket costs $35 on average, then Jade Stadium with a 35,000 capacity and Eden Park with 45,000 capacity can generate between $1.3 million and $1.7 million.
The Blues hosted the playoffs in 2003 and beat the Crusaders 21-17 at Eden Park.
"There was a substantial bottom line there, the Blues took in excess of half a million dollars profit, it was a substantial amount of money," Dalton said from South Africa.
"I hesitate to make too much comment about the financial stakes because the focus is on the side getting back to playing well. They made a good start, lost direction for about 60 minutes and there was a lot of frustration afterwards."
Ticket prices were different in 2003, but the Blues earned about $500,000 profit from their semifinal win against the Brumbies, watched by a 33,000 spectators. They pulled in more than $650,000 after a full house for the final against the Crusaders.
The pattern has been that sides who do not make the playoffs in the Super series struggle to break even.
If the Sharks or Bulls overtake the Blues, the team may have to return for a semifinal in South Africa after their last match against the Force in Perth.
The best way of avoiding that is to win in Pretoria this weekend then at Perth.
