| Everyone’s a winner as GAA opens Croke
Park  History
will be made next year as Ireland’s national soccer and rugby teams
step out onto the hallowed turf of Croke Park for the first time. JON
MYLES looks at the implications of opening up GAA headquarters to other
sports.
WHETHER it’s merely a temporary measure or heralds the dawn of a new
era remains to be seen.
But the decision to allow soccer and rugby teams to use Croke Park has
far-reaching implications — for the GAA, other sports and the Dublin
economy.
In many other countries the debate over whether other sports should be
allowed to be played at the home of the nation’s major games would
seem an anachronism.
But in Ireland the GAA is more than merely a sporting body — it
is an embodiment of its struggle against colonial rule.
Hence the long debate over amending Rule 42 — which forbade GAA
grounds being used for sports such as soccer and rugby.
Croke Park will only be pressed into service while Lansdowne Road is being
rebuilt. If the compromise hadn’t been reached fans were facing
the prospect of Ireland’s soccer team having to play crucial home
matches in Cardiff or Manchester.
It’s hard to overstate just how embarrassing it would have been
to see thousands of supporters flocking over the Irish Sea to Britain
while a state-of-the-art 80,000-plus seater stadium lay empty in their
own capital.
But while the GAA hierarchy continues to stress the temporary nature of
the arrangement many argue that once a bridge has been crossed you can
never go back.
That’s a debate which will rage long and loud over the next 12 months.
But for the present it seems the deal to open Croke Park to soccer and
rugby is a win, win, win situation for all concerned.
Under the terms of the agreement between the GAA, the Irish Rugby Football
Union (IRFU) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), two rugby
and three soccer internationals will be played at Croke Park next year.
It is likely to net the sporting organisations many millions of pounds
in ticket, advertising and promotional revenue.
Estimates put the GAA’s wind-fall at more than £7million over
the five games in 2007 and £2million per match for the IRFU and
FAI.
Dublin and neighbouring counties will also reap big dividends from travelling
and home fans, with an estimated spend of more than £34million each
game.
The first international will see Ireland take on France in a Six Nations
rugby clash before a capacity 82,600 crowd on February 11, 2007.
Two weeks later God Save The Queen will be played for the first time ever
at the home of Gaelic sport when Ireland host rugby World Cup champions
England.
The first soccer international is set to take place in March, with games
in October and November at the start of the Republic’s 2008 European
Championships qualifiers.
The GAA will receive £850,000 per game or 25 per cent of the total
gate receipts — whichever is greater. It means close to £7million
is likely to be generated for the organisation from the matches agreed.
For the rugby and soccer authorities it will be the first time they will
be playing international matches at home in one of the finest stadiums
in Europe.
Rugby matches will be watched by up to 82,000 fans and the IRFU is confident
of selling out the stadium for Ireland’s matches.
Soccer internationals must be all-seater and there are 69,000 seats in
the Hogan, Cusack and Canal End stands, but the FAI could raise the capacity
to 75,000 by installing bucket seats on Hill 16.
It’s a move that has delighted sports fans across Britain and Ireland.
Sports Minister John O’Donoghue said: “We now have the reality
of access to one of Europe’s finest stadia.”
And new Irish soccer manager Steve Staunton said: “It is a fantastic
arena and the prospect of a full house of passionate Irish soccer fans
cheering on our lads really whets the appetite.”
GAA president Sean Kelly said the agreement was necessary to ensure Irish
sport and sports followers did not have to travel abroad for games.
FAI chief executive John Delaney said: “It is an historic day for
soccer and for sport in Ireland.”
Average cost of a ticket for the internationals is expected to be around
£40 each.
GAA uses position to exact maximum profit
THE GAA has driven a hard bargain in allowing soccer and rugby to use
Croke Park — but they held the
whip hand throughout the negotiations.
Failure to agree to the GAA’s terms would have left the FAI and
the IRFU in the uncomfortable position of having to play their home matches
abroad — probably in Britain.
For both organisations it would have been a major embarrassment.
It means the GAA secured a deal which is even more lucrative than those
in place at Britain’s stadia.
Every time the FAI or IRFU use Croke Park they will have to shell out
£850,000 in rental or 25 per cent of the gate receipts — whichever
is greater.
The level is significantly greater than the 20 per cent figure Britain’s
premier venues usually look for — and far greater than the 15 per
cent the FAI are believed to have paid the IRFU for using Lansdowne Road.
Existing premium ticket and corporate box holders at Croke park are likely
to be given first option to buy tickets for the rugby and soccer matches.
But the GAA may also be able to cash in further by renting out any of
the 98 corporate box whose users do not take up the option.
IRFU and FAI set for sponsorship boom
BOTH Ireland’s rugby and soccer governing bodies are set to enjoy
an advertising revenue bon-anza following the deal to play next year’s
matches in Croke Park.
Brands linked to the IRFU and FAI are already locked into advertising
and sponsorship deals no matter where their games are played.
Under present agreements it is the sporting bodies which bank the revenue
from pitch-side advertising hoardings and not the venue.
And Croke Park is much larger than Lansdowne Road — meaning there
is extra space for advertisements.
Industry experts estimate that a single high-profile match could pull
in pitch-side advertising revenue of more than £100,000.
Extra money could be also be generated if Croke Park allows advertising
projections to be beamed on to the pitch, some-thing which has already
been done during fixtures at Lansdowne Road.
The IRFU and FAI will also benefit from the additional match programmes
sold to the much bigger crowd which Croke Park can hold.
With up to 40,000 extra spectators attending each games compared to Lansdowne
Road, thousands more programmes costing around £3 each are likely
to be sold.
Advertisers will also be willing to pay higher prices for taking out adverts
in the programmes because of the increased sales.
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