€1m per game at least, says ex-president Quinn

THE GAA should receive at least €1 million per game for the rent of Croke Park for soccer and rugby internationals next year, according to former president Peter Quinn.

Insisting he was in the dark about the arrangement that had been negotiated, Mr Quinn said that the €1.2m per game figure being mentioned was what he would expect to see the Association receiving - and which he would hope for.

Overall, he felt that the tripartite agreement was the inevitable result of the policy espoused by the Strategic Review Committee (chaired by him), which was put in train by the remarkable Congress decision last April to defer Rule 42 temporarily during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road.

“When the SRC recommended that Central Council be given the right to decide on the use of the stadium, we always envisaged there was the possibility that this point would be reached,” he said.

While the GAA is refusing to divulge the financial detail of their agreement with the IRFU and the FAI for the rent of Croke Park, Mr Quinn said this was possibly because Central Council should first be briefed.

“Technically, the Central Council are the directors of the stadium and it’s probably that they want to advise the council before anyone else.

“They would not want to hear the details through the media.”

Association PRO Danny Lynch, who represented Central Council in the negotiations, defended the decision not to reveal the financial details by arguing that it was normal commercial practice.

“If it was a concert in Lansdowne Road or whatever, that’s the way it would be,” he said.

Agreement was reached sooner than expected, after just four meetings.

The fact that the IRFU was under pressure to finalise its fixtures schedule helped to speed up the discussions, he conceded.

Mr Lynch pointed out that prior to the commencement of negotiations, he was briefed by Director General Liam Mulvihill, meaning he had a clear idea of what the Association was seeking from the other two sporting bodies.

“It was like the farmer taking a calf to the Dingle mart, which I often did, knowing what he was worth and hoping to get a bit more,” he said.

“All I would say is that we would be reasonably happy with the outcome.”

Meanwhile, the potential spin-off to the other associations from the enhanced capacity of Croke Park was a matter of speculation, one reason being they will be expected to apply different pricing structures.

“They will operate on the basis of what the market expects and what is sustainable. I do not know what the differential (in ticket prices) will be, but it’s fair to assume that there will be a differential.”

The agreement takes account of the rights of box-holders in Croke Park. The understanding is that virtually all will be given first option in terms of purchasing tickets for soccer and rugby.

According to Mr Lynch, “considerable” discussions have yet to take place on operational matters such as stewarding and security - which will be the responsibility of the FAI and the IRFU on match days.

“That will be a new experience for them, as indeed it will be for us.”

Media requirements will also involve a major extension of the current facilities to cater for about 350 people.