Leinster final may see record crowd

PREDICTIONS are being made the attendance in Croke Park tomorrow will set a new record for a Leinster football final when for the first time sections of the upper tier on the Hogan Stand side will be in use.

The expectation is the attendance may be as high as the 75,000 mark after 65,978 saw Dublin’s semi-final with Meath. The attendance at last year’s final between these two counties was 66,825 following which the crowd at the Meath/Galway All-Ireland final went above 70,000 (for any game in Croke Park) for the first time since 1983. That year it was 71,988 for the All-Ireland football final between Dublin and Galway.

In 1962 a new record of 59,643 was established for a Leinster final for the meeting of Offaly and Dublin. That was exceeded with 60,271 for the 1992 decider and it went over the 62,000 mark in 1995 (62,998) and 1998 (62,504).

In contrast, the attendance was just 28,157 for the 1991 final between Meath and Laois played on a Saturday. It was the year Dublin and Meath met four times in the first round, attracting an average 59,000 crowd to each game.

The drop in attendance figures at the major games over the last 15 years is accounted for by all-ticket games, reductions in the permitted numbers on the terraces and by the redevelopment of Croke Park.