Munster Council set to revise split of big-game gate receipts
A draft proposal is being discussed at senior level within the council which proposes reducing the amount of money to be collected by the county ‘hosting’ the game in favour of the counties travelling to play in the venue.
In the case of Cork and Waterford playing in Thurles in next year’s Munster hurling championship, for instance, the Tipperary County Board would receive less money from the gate and Cork and Waterford would collect more than would be the case under the current agreement.
That current agreement sees ‘host’ counties collect 15% of the gate, but that would be reduced if the new proposal is adopted, and the ‘visiting’ counties’ current 10% slice of the gate would be increased under the new proposal. This proposal has different implications for different counties.
Traditionally Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Limerick host the championship games which attract big crowds, as Walsh Park in Waterford and Cusack Park in Ennis don’t have sufficient capacity for crowds of 20,000 or more.
By reducing the percentage due to the ‘hosting’ counties, there will be an impact on their finances which will not apply to the likes of Waterford and Clare: on the contrary, as those counties do not benefit from big games being played in their stadia, they stand to increase their income if the proposal is adopted.
It’s expected that counties such as Tipperary are likely to oppose the measure on the same grounds.
This proposal aligns with other proposals that the GAA have put on the table regarding financial matters in recent weeks. The Irish Examiner revealed last month that Croke Park had mooted a reduction in the funding being awarded to the Dublin County Board on the basis that the capital’s GAA officers had access to significant funds as it stood, including commercial opportunities which were not available to other counties.
In that context, the Munster Council’s proposal can be seen in the same vein, an attempt to help counties not as financially successful as their counterparts to become more competitive. It’s not clear if other provincial councils are considering similar schemes.
