UP to £3 million will be spent by agencies in Limerick in the first phase of their promotion of the city as the home of Irish rugby, the chief executive of Shannon Development, Mr Pat Daly, has said.
As the city prepares for today's match between Munster and Stade Francais at Thomond Park, Mr Daly said the marketing fund could increase to £6 million to "do justice" to the "World Spirit of Rugby" concept as it made "sense" of rugby in Limerick.
"We have got to be slow and steady and we have to be faithful to rugby and its support," he said.
Because of its British garrison legacy, the city has a rugby tradition which cuts across class and gender. It has nine clubs - not including the Leprechauns who come together for charity games - solid schools' support and the kind of popularity which has fathers playing with their children with a rugby ball rather than a football.
On Limerick's main street, the relationship with the game is symbolised by a sculpture of a rugby player with a hurler.
For the past two years, Shannon Development, with the corporation, the enterprise boards and the Chamber of Commerce, has been consulting with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and local club representatives to develop the "World Spirit of Rugby" idea. It now involves an annual banquet linked with a prestigious game, the promotion of a rugby pub trail and the advertising of the city as a rugby capital.
The voluntary committee has had a small amount of seed funding. It will do a feasibility study before seeking further funding and is considering whether it should get a sponsor.
"We need to gear it up. The thinking is done, the concept is there, the game is there. To push the game, I would think you are certainly looking at a spend of £3 million over the next two to three years for its first phase. If you are going to take it anywhere, you are going to spend that kind of money," said Mr Daly.
He said it was important that the game and its importance to the city would not be "milked" and its pride and legacy would be captured and shared. The concept was aimed at celebrating the camaraderie and friendships of rugby and would involve some kind of "living, breathing" orientation centre which could incorporate a pub or a cafe.
"Ask 100 people about rugby in Limerick and you will get 100 different answers," he said.
Ideas which are being developed include rugby symposiums, tuition and coaching and health and fitness. At the "softer" end, what the sport has meant to Limerick would be developed, looking at "how do you capture the craic".
"There certainly will be a rugby experience which we hope would be as interesting to the rugby fanatic or aficionado as it is to the person who does not know much about the game," said Mr Daly, who played for Shannon.
The captain of the former South African World Cup winning team, Francois Pienaar, was guest of honour at last night's banquet. The former Irish and Barbarians outhalf, Mick Quinn, and the former Irish and Garryowen player, Tony Ward, also attended.
The project manager, Mr Joe Saunders, said costs so far had been confined to signage and printing, amounting to less than £30,000. However, the committee had to react quickly when Munster qualified for the European Cup quarter-final last month.
He said Thomond Park, although a relatively small ground with a capacity of 13,300, had a unique atmosphere, voted second best in the world in the World Cup. The unique Limerick atmosphere has been noted by visitors. The Mail on Sunday stated that "the soul of Rugby Union has been quietly transferred to Thomond Park" and the Sunday Times said it had the best atmosphere for a neutral venue.
"Limerick is probably the only ground in the world where silence is observed strictly during penalties," he said.