Procuring a host city for Europe’s rugby finals
Legal
The Brief
The governing body and organiser of the most high-profile European rugby union club tournaments – EPCR (the European Professional Club Rugby) engaged TSC and TSC Legal on five occasions to manage a targeted process to secure the host city of such Finals weekends.
Alongside our Consulting colleagues, we were instructed to procure (and agree optimal terms with) hosts for the 2025 and 2026 editions of the Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Finals.
The Solution
We managed the host city bid process for the 2025 and 2026 editions of the Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Finals that engaged over 20 potential hosts. To optimise offers from potential bidders, we delivered a market leading and tailored set of event hosting terms. The agreement detailed the rights bidders would receive and the obligations that stakeholders within each bidding consortium were expected to deliver. We negotiated hosting agreement terms with a shortlist, and delivered an evaluation of each bid to support EPCR to appoint its preferred bidders.
Using the competitive tension from the process and our extensive knowledge of the variety of stakeholders (from stadium owners to local and national government departments) and commercial structures involved in such transactions, we were able to negotiate optimal terms for EPCR.
