Munster ticket plan to battle recession

MUNSTER COUNCIL officials will unveil a series of new measures next week to ensure that cash-strapped supporters have a better chance of attending the summer’s big championship clashes.

Provincial chairman Jimmy O’Gorman has revealed that a greater number of family packages will be made available for top games, with tickets situated in much better areas at the various venues.

The exact details will be revealed at Lismore Castle in Waterford tomorrow week, when the 2009 Munster hurling and football championships are officially launched.

For the fourth year in succession, ticket prices for the provincial championships remain the same and O’Gorman has promised that “endless numbers of family tickets will be made available this year.”

O’Gorman admitted that a price reduction was not considered as the Munster Council has various financial commitments to attend to which require significant funding.

However, the Waterford native and his fellow officials are acutely aware of the desperate financial plight of many rank and file GAA members and are anxious to cater for them.

O’Gorman, speaking at last night’s launch of the 2009 Primary Go Games at Semple Stadium, said: “It’s not all about money.

“You have people sitting at home for days, I’ve seen people on the dole queues, out of work through no fault of their own and with their pride deeply hurt.

“We will be doing our level best to ensure that everybody can afford to go to our games.”

With admission prices frozen once again this year, O’Gorman believes that fans are getting good value for money and he predicted: “We’ll probably be going back to the great days of the flasks and sandwiches, with people maybe meeting up on the road and having the banter.

“We didn’t consider a reduction in prices but we will be making sure that the increased numbers of family tickets will be in the right places in the centre of the field.

“We’re fully conscious of what’s happening out there but we have serious commitments as well.

“We have full-time staff, we’re paying people for coaching every day and there’s huge money going into initiatives like Cumann na mBunscoil, third-level scholarships and insurance funds.

“We have no problem breaking down where our money goes and at the end of the day, there’s very little left.”

O’Gorman predicted healthy attendances for the Munster championship and indicated that numbers attending the provincial minor and U21 football championships remained consistent this year.