Munster hurling championship records gate receipts of €6.794 million in 2024

A rise of over 5,000 in total attendances but more significantly an increase in ticket prices were the reasons behind the figure

FAN-TASTIC: Last year’s Munster senior hurling championship drew jaw-dropping gate receipts of €6.794 million, a increase of €1.4m from the previous record set in 2023. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Last year’s Munster senior hurling championship drew jaw-dropping gate receipts of €6.794 million, a increase of €1.4m from the previous record set in 2023.

The jump of over 20% highlights the success story that the province’s chief executive Kieran Leddy described in his annual report as the jewel in the crown.

A rise of over 5,000 in total attendances but more significantly an increase in ticket prices were the reasons behind the remarkable figure.

An adult stand ticket for a round game was bumped to €30 from €20, while admission to the final also rose to €45 (stand) and €35 (terrace).

While appreciative of the “huge levels of excitement and public engagement” the championship creates, Leddy highlighted hosting the games cost Munster GAA €1.833m.

“The entire cost of running our games, including field rent, comes to 38% of the entire gate income of our games. Add in the team expenses we pay (€1.13m) and that figure rises to 47%.”

Last year’s gross gate receipt sum is over €2m more than the 2022 total and over €2.7m than the inaugural year of the competition’s round-robin format in 2018. Collated gate receipts across the five seasons of its league system amount to €25.183m.

In total, Munster GAA’s gate receipts in 2024 were just over €8m with the senior football championship also experiencing an increase from €433,355 in 2023 to €523,346 last year as Clare and Kerry faced each other in the final for the second successive season.

Leddy again bemoaned how the Munster senior football championship “chugged along under the radar”. He wrote: “Without Corcaigh challenging for honours at the game’s top table, we are relying on too rare upsets for variety”.

He recalled the province’s senior football final in Ennis last May. “In the end, Ciarraí’s ability to find a few scores gave them a seven-point win. There was barely a celebration when the cup was lifted, in contrast to the huge excitement seen at the end of the Connacht and Ulster championship finals.”

Leddy has cautioned against the GAA returning the facility of replays to provincial finals.

“If replay were to return for provincial hurling finals, the wait for the Munster champions for the All-Ireland semi-final would extend from four to five weeks.”

He continued: “Yes, a replay ‘could’ bring an extra €1m of income to the provincial council but far more often than not the replay weekend would be idle and the potential financial gain once every nine years (on average), can hardly justify decreasing the chances of our champions progressing to the All-Ireland final because of the five-week wait. Advantage should always follow the team that wins a championship.” 

As a solution, Leddy put forward the idea of the All-Ireland semi-finals taking place the weekend after the quarter-finals and the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals organised for the weekend following the provincial finals.

“That would mean the team that finishes third in Munster and reaches an All-Ireland semi-final plays three weekends in a row, while the provincial final runner-up has a two-week break to the quarter-final with the semi-final the week after. The provincial winner has a three-week gap to the semi-final, which is probably the perfect gap.”

The province’s pre-season competitions last year recorded gate receipts of €79,226, down from €127,127 owing to the fact the competition wasn’t completed. A Cork-Limerick game was postponed while the decision was taken not to stage the final. Central Council took the decision in September to suspend the provinces’ pre-season competitions this year.

Overall, Munster GAA reported a €505,947 surplus for 2024 after a €1.177m deficit in 2023. Before funding distribution, its surplus was €3.939m last year.