Cork GAA chief: Passing Páirc Uí Chaoimh debt onto the next generation doesn’t bear thinking

DEBT: Legacy debt from the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh continues to rest well above the €30m mark, Cork GAA secretary Kevin O’Donovan has revealed. File pic: Jim Coughlan.

Legacy debt from the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh continues to rest well above the €30m mark, Cork GAA secretary Kevin O’Donovan has revealed.

Despite club gate receipts topping €1.5m and an overall end of year surplus totalling €679,590, the standout figures from the 2022 Cork GAA accounts released Tuesday night centre around Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the substantial debt it has given rise to.

Bank debt arising from the stadium redevelopment stands at €21,056,000 as of the end of September. Annual loan repayments of €1.1m are being made to service this debt.

Money owed by Cork county board to Croke Park, meanwhile, currently sits at €7,763,722.

The two figures combined total almost €29m, but Cork CEO Kevin O’Donovan has said that legacy debt from the stadium redevelopment goes well north of that figure.

The Páirc Uí Chaoimh accounts for 2022 show a turnover of €6,085,632, owing mainly to the Munster-South Africa rugby game and the Ed Sheeran, Elton John, and Westlife concerts that took place at the venue this year.

That €6m figure, however, becomes an end of year operating loss of €189,170 when cost of sales, administration expenses, and administration expenses depreciation are subtracted.

“Páirc Uí Chaoimh continues to face a challenging future,” O’Donovan writes in his annual report ahead of Sunday’s convention.

“Despite healthy profits this year, the legacy debt from the stadium redevelopment continues to rest well above the €30m mark. Predictions that the stadium would open debt-free now seem like a distant memory and all efforts must be made to clear the shortfall by those now charged with its management.

“Passing the debt onto the next generation doesn’t bear thinking. Therefore, an action plan continues to be implemented in conjunction with all associates and we will be calling on members to support all commercial aspects under the Cork GAA umbrella. The sooner the stadium is placed on a firm financial footing, the sooner we can move on to future projects, for example, the much-required training centre for our teams.

“What is also certain is that All-Ireland winning teams will represent the best opportunity that the stadium will be filled more regularly. Therefore, members can be assured that nothing is being short-changed on the playing side, despite the mortgage overhang. That said, the provision of training pitches continues to present challenges, hence the requirement for some blue-sky thinking on same.” 

Cork’s inter-county team spend for 2022 reached €1,614,766, an increase of €400k on last year’s team expenditure.

O’Donovan said a disappointing aspect of the year was the spreading of false rumours during the Páirc Uí Rinn or nowhere controversy and in the aftermath of the Cork hurlers’ All-Ireland quarter-final exit in a bid to create divisions between the players and county board.

“One disappointing aspect which was common to both the “Páirc Uí Rinn or nowhere” saga and the aftermath of the hurlers’ defeat to Galway were the false rumours peddled regarding the position of the County Officers on various matters. Unfortunately, such mischief making was clearly designed to create a divide between players and the Board and certainly had no motive in the betterment of Cork hurling or football.” 

The Rebels’ Bounty draw brought in €381,578 for the year, a 62% improvement on last year.