No sellout but healthy crowd allays GAA fears

DESPITE being the lowest attendance for an All-Ireland senior hurling final in over five years, the 81,314 figure for yesterday’s decider wasn’t as bad as had been feared during the week.

Although there were spare tickets widely available at pre-final GAA events in Kilmacud and Stillorgan on Saturday, the crowd fell less than 1,000 short of the 82,300 capacity.

The number should allay fears expressed during the week that the GAA could receive a major backlash for increasing their price of a stand ticket for the final by 12% from €70 to €80 and bumping up the terrace admission by €5 to €40. In his match programme notes yesterday, GAA President Christy Cooney pointed out the admission initiatives to championship matches before the final.

“We restructured our ticket prices this year in an effort to offer the best value possible. Our club and group passes have also proved to be hugely popular as have the various initiatives including our season ticket.”

Remarkably for what was the third final between Kilkenny and Tipperary preceding two classics, the GAA ticket office in Dublin had tickets to sell just a couple of days before the game.

A number of GAA clubs in Kilkenny had also reportedly returned tickets unsold.