Business of Sport: What are the main issues affecting the Irish sports industry? And what exactly is the business of sport? Next Friday, there is a chance to find out as the first Business of Sport Conference takes place in UCD with key protagonists from across the Irish sports spectrum taking part.

Devised by Prof Conal Hooper, Director of the Centre for Sports Studies, UCD and Eoin MacNeill, Partner A&L Goodbody, it is a chance for "an exchange of knowledge bringing together people from the sports industry", according to MacNeill.

It is hoped that it will be at least an annual event and, as MacNeill points out, such conferences are common events for other sectors of the business world.

But is there such a market for the business of sport in Ireland? The concept and practice of sport as a business has been well established in the US since the 1960s and in the UK has dominated football since the arrival of BSkyB in the 1990s.

In Ireland though, out of the big three of GAA, soccer and rugby, one is amateur, another struggles to maintain a domestic product, and the third has only gone professional in the last 10 years.

But we have seen the arrival of big business on to the scene. The GAA is amateur only in so far as it doesn't pay its players (would Croke Park have been built by an organisation that was anything other than professional?) and has been the recipient of some of the biggest sports sponsorship deals through the Bank Of Ireland Football Championship and the Guinness Hurling Championship sponsorships.

It is not all about big business and top-end money though. MacNeill points out that one of the areas of exponential growth in recent times has been the leisure industry with gyms and gym culture increasingly dominating our lives - and by extension the business of sport industry in this country.

Has the Heineken Cup become a victim of its own success? The ninth final of club rugby's elite competition will be played tomorrow between London Wasps and defending champions Toulouse, and despite the increased crowds, television coverage and sponsorship deals, the ERC admit they are looking to remodel themselves on soccer's successful Champions League format.

ERC communications manager Diarmuid Murphy admits that they are looking to move forward commercially and the model of Europe's premier soccer competition with four equal sponsors is proving an attraction that club rugby will look to establish.

But, into its 10th year as title sponsor, Heineken are indelibly associated with the European Rugby Cup - fans and journalists alike have dropped the European and Rugby from its title, and across Europe and the media, the competition has become known as merely, the Heineken Cup. A sponsor's dream - but an organiser's nightmare?

The current deal with Heineken, believed to be worth in the region of €5 million-6 million per year, expires next season and, although discussions have already begun, it is clear that the ERC are looking to exploit the commercial success that has landed at their door.

The question though is, can a multi-partner format work? What sponsor would be willing to take over from Heineken and if multi-partners were introduced is there a danger that fans would still call it the Heineken Cup? Soccer fans might point to the ever-changing name of the League Cup in England which was known in various forms as the Coca-Cola Cup, Worthington Cup and Milk Cup, but rugby fans will rightly say that it has been the Heineken Cup for 10 years and old habits die hard.

Diarmuid Murphy admits that as an organisation they are always looking to move forward and looking for more ways and opportunities to exploit their product - one of which is the Champions League format.

Big business is increasingly knocking on the ERC's door now - witness the Munster-Toyota deal signed last week for about 3 million over three years - but there is a mindset that has been used to certain companies being involved and things only being done in a certain way.

Yet, this season has seen the highest attendances, the largest semi-final crowd (48,000 for Munster v Wasps), the most for the pool stages (up 20 per cent, an increase of 100,000), a 72,000 sell-out final at Twickenham and estimated gate receipts of 4 million on the day. And still they're only scratching the surface says Murphy.

Pointing out that this season wasn't even the most commercially successful year due to a reduced TV deal in France and in part because of a depressed broadcasting market when the original deals were struck, the ERC are still smiling and it is the future that has them grinning the most.

Sky have come on board, broadcasting five games each weekend and giving the competition increased coverage coming off the back of the feel-good factor in England after their Rugby World Cup success while the Munster phenomenon keeps rolling on, surpassing their fervour for the game with each passing year and with each failed attempt at the Holy Grail.

The Heineken Cup, says Murphy, is creeping up on the Six Nations for attention and focus, reminding us that they are only nine years young

The challenge for them now, he reckons, is to hold on to the attention they have for the rest of the year. While the Six Nations is the highlight in commercial, financial and media terms, the Heineken Cup is catching up but the beauty of it is they have the possibility of sustaining such interest from October to May.

Can they though? Can rugby really be big-time a la the Champions League? Can Munster, Toulouse and Wasps be compared to Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan?

It's like comparing apples and oranges believes Murphy, but he does point out that there are 24 cities across Rugby Europe that can be tapped into - from Limerick to Bath to Biarritz, these are rugby cities that want more and the fans are willing to pay for it.

If the ERC ever hope to catch up with the Champions League in financial terms, then prizemoney and its distribution are areas which will have to drastically change.

Currently, each of the Six Nations have two members on the board of the ERC and each union then decides for itself how their cut is spent.

In France, those clubs competing in the Heineken Cup receive more, while in England, the RFU split the money equally in 12 parts between their Premiership clubs.

Amazingly, for those competing in tomorrow's final, clubs do not receive one extra penny - instead, the four nations of the semi-finalists will receive 500,000 each. And for all the hard work, commitment and effort if they do win, Wasps will receive the same one-twelfth share as bottom-placed Rotherham.

Equitable, yes, hardly fair though and it leaves little incentive for clubs to pursue Heineken Cup glory with as much vigour. In this sporting day, the glory of titles only counts for so much.

bizofsport@eircom.net

27 Heineken's stock remains strong - despite sliding from a 2004 high of 35.

"Coach Lombardi showed me that by working hard and using my mind, I could overcome my weakness to the point where I could be one of the best." - Bart Starr

220 Asking price for pair of Heineken European Cup final tickets on ebay.