Politicians and rugby officials gathered in Hamilton yesterday to mark exactly two years until the tournament starts.
Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden struggled to identify any logistical problems, although he admitted financial forecasting for the tournament remained cloudy and would not clear up until tickets went on sale early next year.
He said initial estimates the tournament would cost $310m to run remained accurate, but it was difficult to estimate whether the sale of a maximum 1.7 million tickets to the 48 games -- the sole revenue stream for organisers -- could reach the target of $280 million.
That would result in a loss of $30m, which will be underwritten by the New Zealand Rugby Union and Government.
Mr Snedden was in no position to guarantee that figure would not increase.
"We're taking a bit of a step into the unknown," he said.
"We hope we've got the best balance we can get in terms of ticket pricing and the way it will be distributed.
"But in the end it won't be until we're live (selling) that we know the answer to that.
"The budget still stands at $30m (loss) but it's undoubtedly under a wee bit of pressure."
Asked about this, Mr Key said there was no indication the Government would be required to pump in more money, "everything seems to be well and truly on track in that regard".
"We're not sure what the final bill for the Rugby World Cup will be... depends on ticket sales and what we can achieve in the area," Mr Key said.
It was good that the global recession was taking place now and not in 2011.
"We're seeing confidence being restored globally and I think that will encourage people to pay up."
He was confident the infrastructure would be in place to deal with visitors.
Tickets to most pool games will be modestly priced but seats at the final will cost an average of $800. The average cost of semifinal and quarterfinal tickets will be about $600 and $450 respectively.
"I know ticket prices are high compared to what people are used to paying. But this is a one-off, people may not get to see it for a very long time again and I think people will have to weigh up whether to part with the cash and be part of a magnificent tournament or not," Mr Key said.
"In the end, I think people will say 'that's something I want to be part of'."
