Stadium charges - Rates bill is an own goal

The decision to double the rates on Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium must count as an own goal by the Valuation Office, an independent body that is revaluing every commercial building in Dublin.

The office has increased the rate on Croke Park from €528,000 to €1.028m, while the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Football Association of Ireland have been told that the bill for the Aviva will also rise to €1.028m from last year’s figure of €437,000.

The sporting organisations have described the rates as “punitive” and “nonsensical”, and it is hard to disagree with that assessment.