Security costs may have scuppered Katie Taylor Croker fight, says McKenna 

HIGH COSTS: Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna speaking during the GAA Annual Report Launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

A disagreement over security costs may have scuppered a potential Katie Taylor fight at Croke Park, according to GAA stadium and commercial director Peter McKenna.

Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn claimed the cost of staging the fight against Amanda Serrano is three times more than Wembley.

At Thursday's GAA annual financial report release in Croke Park, McKenna explained the GAA’s rental fee was not excessive, at most 30% more than the London venue, and the differences pertained to security costs.

“The last time we talked to them properly was before Christmas. We would love to have the fight here. We set our stall out on that basis. So our rent was coming in around €400,000. I think the rent for Wembley is about £250,000/£300,000.

“The real issue here is about security costs that which we felt the promoter should carry and having gone through this with statutory services and our own team, we looked at the risk analysis on the event and we felt that the amount of security that you’d need would be at the top level and that is not inexpensive.

“So I think maybe there’s a worry there they wouldn’t quite get the attendance and also the costs associated with hosting an event at a certain standard that we would be very proud that we would hold to has caused a little bit of jitters.

“But I think listening to all that Eddie was saying this morning, he was talking about a Taylor-Serrano III in September, so I don’t even think that it’s all fully cooked in their own mind.”