The 2006 Heineken Cup between Munster and Biarritz Olympique at the Millennium Stadium had an economic impact of over £25 million on the Welsh economy.
Research produced by the Welsh Economy Research Unit, part of Cardiff Business School, reported that Cardiff had benefited by £17.7 million and the rest of Wales by £7.4 million.
The report on the 2006 Heineken Cup final declares it "can be considered the most important single day event at the stadium to date in terms of spectator impact.
Heineken Cup Final Facts and Figures
- French (Toulouse and Brive), English (Leicester Tigers) and Irish (Munster) teams have won both previous Heineken Cup finals at the ground.
- A total of 644,598 fans have gone through the turnstiles for the 12 Heineken Cup finals - an average of 53,717 per match.
- The four previous finals in Cardiff have been watched by 212,598 fans - next May's showpiece occasion could take that figure beyond a quarter of a million.
- There are 223 players from the 12 match day 22-man squads who own Heineken Cup final winners' medals. Players from 14 different nationalities are on the winners' roll of honour.
- The 12 Heineken Cup finals have been staged at six grounds - Cardiff Arms Park / Millennium Stadium (1996, 1997, 2002 and 2006), Stade Lescure (1998), Lansdowne Road (1999 and 2003), Twickenham (2000, 2004 and 2007), Parc des Princes (2001) and Murrayfield (2005).
- The 13th Heineken Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in less than 12 months time will be the 898th tournament match.
- England will have an additional seventh team in the tournament as a result of being the most successful nation out of England, France and Italy in the 2006 / 2007 competition.
- The 12 finals have produced 21 tries - an average of 1.75 per match.