Croke Park double-header to net €7m bonanza for Dublin

Dublin city centre’s local economy will net about €7 million this weekend as about 130,000 people descend on Croke Park for two All-Ireland football championship semifinals, according to a business group.

A spokesman for the GAA said on Friday that a crowd of about 55,000 is expected for Saturday’s replay between Mayo and Kerry, while the clash of Tyrone and Dublin on Sunday will be a sell-out.

“There’ll be a full house of 82,300 on Sunday, and we’re expecting a crowd in the region of 55,000 on Saturday,” he said. “It crowns what’s been a fantastic year for attendances and interest in the games.

“It’s a big crowd when you consider the distances involved. People are travelling from Kerry and Mayo. It’s a hugely positive endorsement for us, and what they saw here last week in the drawn game.”

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A spokeswoman for Dublin Town, a business lobby group, said she expected the weekend's action to bring about €7 million into the city.

“It’s always great for Dublin and our advice to people is to get in well in advance of throw-in,” she said. “There’s plenty to do and see. It’s always a fantastic weekend when there’s GAA in Croke Park.

“We’ve had a few replays in the midst of everything else, and the August bank holiday was very successful with all the match activity. It’s brilliant with the location of the stadium because people can go out and enjoy the city after the match.”

The spokesman for the GAA said attendances at Croke Park in recent months have been “nothing short of incredible”.

“We’ll have the hurling then next weekend, so it’s been a very positive and incredibly busy number of weeks and months for us,” he said.

“Both counties have experienced incredible droughts, so we would expect some diaspora to come home from American and Australia for it, which will only up the ante in terms of the ticket hunt. The interest has already been incredible.

“You can rest assured that this weekend is worth a considerable amount to the city of Dublin. If you go back as far as the concerts, the attendances we’ve had in Croke Park since then have been nothing short of incredible.

“I’d speculate there’s hardly a stadium in the world that’s hosted more people than Croke Park in the last three months. There can’t be.”

He added that GAAGO, which streams matches online for overseas customers, is “flying” with subscriptions up year on year. “It’s been a resounding success and it continues to grow,” he added.