Feeney: Mayo defeat would have cost €1m

A SHOCK Mayo defeat to London on Sunday could have resulted in a loss of up to €1m for the GAA and the business community in Castlebar.

Mayo never led during normal time and only pulled away to record a 0-19 to 2-10 in extra-time and set up a Connacht semi-final against Galway in McHale Park in Castlebar.

That game on June 26 is set to attract a crowd in excess of 25,000, producing gate receipts of up to €500,000, with a similar amount being spent in the town on the day.

Mayo GAA secretary Sean Feeney said: “It would have been detrimental for a lot of people if we hadn’t managed to win in London. If you think about the 25,000 people that are expected in McHale Park for the Galway game, all the businesses in the town of Castlebar would miss out on that business. The Connacht Council would have suffered a loss too. The semi-final would have been Galway v London in Galway and their earnings would have been hit too.”

The Connacht Council take the gate and split it up, with the host county getting 10%. “There is no way that a Galway-London semi-final could have attracted as many fans as Mayo-Galway but at least now we can prepare for that,” added Feeney.