Peter McKenna: Croke Park pitch will be perfect for All-Ireland final

The GAA have no fears about the state of the Croke Park pitch for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC final following the Festival of Families with Pope Francis on Saturday.

Dublin manager Jim Gavin has criticised concerts being held so close to Championship games in GAA HQ and believes the practice impacted on the standard of the field in recent years.

However, GAA stadium and commercial director Peter McKenna is confident the playing turf will show no ill effect eight days on from the event for a number of reasons.

The stage was set far further into Hill 16 and it didn’t really encroach on the field as other concerts would. Also, all the crowd on the pitch area were sitting so there’s not as much wear and tear on the surface as there would be for a concert when there would be dancing and moshing. That’s not to say it’s without its challenges but they’re very much within our circle of competency.

The GAA’s ground staff, headed up by Stuart Wilson, have already made light of two quick turnarounds this year — the Leinster SFC final 13 days after a Taylor Swift gig and the opening Super 8 weekend a week following Michael Buble sang at Jones Road — and McKenna expects the same again.

“Stuart does a fantastic job. It’s all about planning, ensuring all the boxes are ticked and every part of our plan is done to the best of people’s ability. It’s not without risk but it’s not risky if you know what I mean.”

In July, GAA president John Horan revealed his plans to avoid July and August concerts in Croke Park from 2019 on and he has the full support of McKenna. “John’s sentiments are what we all subscribe to — Croke Park is for matches first and foremost. Anything that detracts from that needs serious consideration.

A decision was taken by Central Council to host the Festival of Families and welcome Pope Francis to Croke Park to reflect the GAA’s national position and we moved our finals as a result. John’s right — what’s most important is our games.

McKenna was thrilled with how the Festival of Families passed off on Saturday.

“We were very pleased. We had no shortage of stewards and people available to help those who were disabled or found it difficult to get around.

“I think the stadium looked well and the concert was fantastic as you would expect from Tyrone Productions. It was a world-class event.”