Munster chief seeks ‘urgent’ action on slide in attendances

By Fintan O’Toole and Colm O’Connor

Friday, July 30, 2010

THE Munster Council are to examine the decline in attendances for this year’s provincial senior championship games as a matter of urgency, according to chairman Sean Walsh.

The Kerry native also insists the GAA has a duty to recognise the pressures the economic climate has placed on supporters of Gaelic games.

The issue of attendances has been a nationwide concern for GAA chiefs this season with the most prominent example in Munster being the senior hurling semi-final meeting of Waterford and Clare that only drew 11,027.

Walsh admitted that action needs to be taken quickly to address the situation.

He said: "We must as a matter of urgency examine the reasons for the decline in numbers attending our senior championship games.

"Even though, in our opinion, the games continue to provide a great sporting atmosphere and their entertainment value is as high as ever, this fall-off in attendances is a cause for concern.

"This year and for the past number of years we have engaged in a concerted marketing effort of our major games. I believe that but for these initiatives, the fall-off in attendances would have been greater.

"In this severe economic downturn we must take into consideration that many of our genuine supporters and patrons are experiencing financial difficulties and cannot afford the cost of attending our games as frequently as they did in the past.

"They no longer have the disposable income, despite our promotion of concession season tickets and concession tickets for families, students and old age pensioners."

Walsh also believes that the large amount of games that are being televised live is contributing to the drop in attendances and that Croke Park must consider showing fewer matches when the new tv broadcast deals are finalised in the coming months.

Walsh said: "There has to be an assessment of the promotional value of having such a big number of live TV games and balance that with the possibility that this number of live TV games is affecting attendances.

"These questions and many more need to be addressed in the immediate future. We want our championship games to be accessible to everybody who wants to attend them.

"With that in mind we will reassess every aspect of the marketing of our games, including the games scheduling and match times as well as the general admission and concession prices.

"I can assure all supporters that we will do everything possible to make next year’s inter-county championship games more accessible to them."

Meanwhile the GAA’s ticketing manager Ronan Murphy has reported exceptional demand for the weekend’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals.

"It is going very well and I am expecting our biggest crowd of year at Croke Park tomorrow. There are some tickets still available on our website (www.gaa.ie) and our advice is to buy in advance as there is no guarantee that tickets will be on sale on the day.

"Dublin and Tyrone are obviously a huge attraction. Down fans are also coming in big numbers while there is a surprising amount of Kerry supporters travelling given that the Irish Open is on down in the county this weekend. The crowd wouldn’t be as big on Sunday for the other doubleheader but we are still expecting strong numbers for those games.

He added: "Package sales have gone very well for both days plus we have over 4,000 season ticket holders coming through the turnstiles over the two days."

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, July 30, 2010