No more non-GAA sports for Croke Park, says McKenna

CROKE PARK won’t be staging any major sporting events outside of GAA for the foreseeable future, stadium director Peter McKenna admitted yesterday.

Although there are hopes of hosting an NFL game in the coming years, McKenna ruled out the possibility of a Heineken Cup final being played at GAA headquarters.

“Obviously, if we got a request we’d put that in front of Ard Chomhairle,” he said.

“I think though that any of the matches they’d have, they’d seek to hold them in the Aviva (Stadium).”

McKenna said Croke Park would not attempt to make a bid to stage the decider.

“I don’t think (we would). It would be antagonistic to our fellow sports people.

“That would be the wrong way to do business.”McKenna also dismissed the idea of Ireland playing a cricket game at Croke Park.

“It wouldn’t be an international standard pitch so that would be an issue.”

McKenna yesterday reported Croke Park’s accounts are in good shape despite the drop in income from the FAI and IRFU rental there. Aside from pop group Take That performing in the stadium in June, the reconstruction of the handball centre and the plan to launch Croke Park roof tours are the big developments for McKenna this year. “We’re launching the roof top tours hopefully in October. That will depend on getting planning permission from the city authorities. That will be very successful. The handball centre is going through a refurbishment so that will be rebuilt and again, we are very pleased with that. It’ll be a new addition to the campus.”