Munster attendance alarm rejected

Munster Rugby officials have hit back at criticisms over attendance figures, citing a year-on-year increase in the numbers who attended the province’s regular season home games.

A crowd of 16,158 at the Guinness Pro12 semi-final against the Ospreys, Paul O’Connell’s Thomond Park farewell, was the epicentre of such alarm.

Yet the club’s CEO, Garrett Fitzgerald, labelled the attendance as ‘excellent’, when compared to similar rugby occasions held in recent weeks.

“It was bigger than Glasgow, obviously, as their capacity is smaller. The two Aviva Premiership semi-finals took place the same day and we had a bigger attendance than them. And I think we had a bigger attendance with the exception of one [quarter-final] in France.

“So I think it was rather harsh for people to be criticising an attendance.

“In fairness to the rugby people in Munster, you had 16,000 people in the gate on a Saturday and the following Thursday night you had over 15,000 in to see the Barbarians and Ireland. I see that as very positive and I see it as a big commitment from people to rugby in the Munster area.”

Philip Quinn, financial controller for Munster Rugby, noted that the crowd for the Ospreys encounter was the second highest attendance at a semi-final in the Pro12 era.

“There’s always the expectancy that Munster will sell 26,000 but we have to be realistic,” said Quinn.

“On a one week turnaround there’s a lot of communions and local things; people have already got their plans. So to come in at 16,000 was a big achievement.” Attendances over the course of the regular season – consisting of 11 Pro12 and three European games – have marginally increased, with ticket sales at 218,219 (up 1.7%) and attendances reaching 153,406 (up 3.2%).

This increase has been largely driven by the turnout at the four Pro12 games held in Cork, boosting numbers coming through the gates by 3,411 (a rise of 22.7%).

However contractual commitments will prevent extra games coming to Musgrave Park for the time-being, although the situation will come under review should attendances continue to rise.

“We’ll do everything we can to maximise our attendances,” said Fitzgerald, “but we have contractual obligations, be it with season tickets or sponsors."

Additional matches have been brought to Cork, most notably the Irish Wolfhounds clash with the England Saxons.

Ticket sales account for 45% of the province’s overall income, with some diversification coming through additional support from the IRFU and increased revenue from Commercial Board initiatives. That board will be key to eliminating the €413,000 cash-flow deficit over the coming two years.

Fitzgerald added: “That [Commercial Board] has been quite successful in giving us better access and contacts in the commercial world. That’s one area we are trying to diversify a bit.

“The commercial programme within the stadium in Limerick is quite vibrant but the margins are quite small, purely because of competition.

“The concert area has become quite challenging purely because all of the concerts being staged in Dublin. So that’s an income stream we are looking to see if we can replace with some other form of entertainment.”

A concert will be held in Musgrave Park this summer, with Katherine Jenkins and Jose Carreras performing on June 20. The feasibility of a second music event being held this year is being examined.