Munster army may be on the march to Kingdom

HEINEKEN CUP rugby could be on its way to Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

Munster Rugby chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald revealed yesterday that staging such a game in Killarney was a real possibility and one the Munster Branch was investigating.

Speaking to a supporters’ briefing in Tralee yesterday, Fitzgerald indicated the branch was prepared to take top-level rugby outside its traditional heartlands in Cork and Limerick.

Stressing that rugby in the province had a lot of competition from hurling, football and soccer, the Munster ‘brand’ was nevertheless one of the strongest in Irish sport and the branch intended to maximise and strengthen its value.

He said other than traditional sources of revenue such as sponsorship, the branch needed its own facilities to generate funding in years to come, but they were looking at many possibilities to generate extra income.

“There is a possibility we could bring a Heineken Cup game to Killarney, as the stadium there is not vested in the GAA. Killarney has all the necessary infrastructural ingredients such as hotels, an airport and so forth to host such an occasion and we are looking into it,” he said.

Fitzgerald added the need to maximise the value of the Munster brand was all-important and if such a move would help in that regard, then it had to be examined.

“We have the brand and the product, but we need facilities,” he added.

Branch president Ken Lyons told the briefing it was hoped some announcement on the future of Thomond Park - or an alternative venue in Limerick - would be made within two weeks.

“The vision for us is to have a 26,000-seater stadium in Limerick and a 15,000-seater in Cork and we have a consultancy firm looking into how to make that happen,” he said.

“It’s not certain we will be able to develop Thomond Park, but I can say people have offered us sites in Limerick for nothing, simply to keep top-level rugby in Limerick.”

Fitzgerald went on to outline a situation where the Munster Branch became a franchise independent of the IRFU, whereby the branch would run its own affairs. He said currently the branch did not have enough autonomy to run its business properly on and off the field and control its facilities.

Nevertheless, the chief executive said he was confident Munster could do this as the province had the proven levels of support.

“The Irish model is different from those in England, France and Wales, where many clubs have benefactors who contribute greatly to their revenue stream. That is not necessarily the way we want to go, but that is the way it is in these places.” he said.

Munster rugby, he added, cost some €6.95m annually to run - under tight financial controls - but that this paled in comparison with the estimated €15m that clubs like Toulouse were able to spend annually.

“Clubs such as Toulouse own their own training and playing facilities and are able to develop revenue from them. We too need to control our own facilities and, ultimately, that’s our vision.

“We need facilities to generate extra cash. We also have a lot of competition from other sports and that means we have to maximise the value of the Munster brand.”

Funding from the Munster Supporters’ Club, the Munster Rugby Store, the Munster Credit Card and Munster Sport Travel, which the branch operates on a 50/50 basis with Killester Travel, were worthy initiatives, but the development of facilities will ultimately be the major cash generator.