France to enter history books

Less than a year after agreeing to the principle of rugby and soccer coming to Croke Park, the GAA have, it seems, closed the deal without even breaking much sweat. Yesterday's agreement clears the way for France to officially become the first international team outside of GAA circles to play at Croke Park when they face Ireland in the Six Nations Championship on February 11th, 2007.

Yet the finer details of that fixture could yet be revisited, as will as other aspects of yesterday's deal as further discussions take place in the weeks and months ahead. Issues of floodlights, crowd segregation, ticket pricing, advertising revenue and ongoing residents' concerns must still be ironed out ahead of the staging of rugby and soccer matches over, potentially, the next three years.

The France rugby match, for example, is set for a Sunday, with a 3pm kick-off, but the GAA was keen to avoid any direct clash of interests with their own games - in this case a round of the National League. It means the IRFU may have to go back to the International Rugby Board and request that game be moved to the Saturday.

Ireland's other home rugby game in 2007, against England on February 24th, is down for a 5.30pm kick-off, which obviously necessitates floodlights.

The GAA have applied for planning permission to install floodlights in Croke Park before the end of this year, although the Croke Park Residents' Alliance have stated their intentions to lodge an objection. However, it is understood temporary floodlighting could be used in the short-term, again depending on permission being granted.

Both Uefa and Fifa have several requirements for the staging of European and World Cup qualifying games, including crowd segregation and the installation of bucket seats on the terracing - in this case Hill 16, but which reportedly can cater for their installation.

Ticket pricing for the 5,000 premium seats and 98 corporate boxes at Croke Park has been left up to the IRFU and the FAI, but predicting that revenue won't be easy. As things stand most of the premium ticket-holders have first refusal on the purchase of those seats for non-GAA events.

The GAA had also operated on a single-price policy for All-Ireland final tickets, while the IRFU and FAI have different prices depending on the location.

Having undergone another make-over before the start of last year's championship, the Croke Park surface is now proven to hold up under the most testing playing conditions of the summer, although it has yet to experience playing conditions in the depths of winter.

Smaller matters such as pitch markings and dugout use will also require further discussions.