Hurling championship gate receipts outdo football for first time in history

Hurling championship gate receipts have opened a notable gap on football for the first time in GAA history, helping contribute to a €2m increase in total Association revenue for 2014.

The GAA’s financial report announced in Croke Park this afternoon has shown Central Council’s total revenue for 2014 was €56.2m, a growth of three per cent on the 2013 figure of €54.6m. Gate receipts totalled €29.4m, marginally up on the previous year (although overall match attendances were slightly down), but with the hurling championship bringing in €11.6m, compared to €11.4m for the football championship.

Commercial revenue was slightly down on the previous year, €16.1m, compared to €17.3m in 2013. And despite suggestions the GAA had “sold out” to Sky as part of their new media rights agreement, the media income was effectively the same - at €10.44m, compared €10.09m in 2013. Sponsorship was also down, from €6.6m in 2013, to €5.1m in 2014, the main reason for that being the GAA diverted one of their sponsorship slots towards the promotion of their own GAA GO media platform.

"I would certainly describe it as a stable, healthy year, on all fronts," said Tom Ryan, GAA Director of Finance. "We've seen an increase in Central Council Revenue, and stadium revenue, and as a result the overall investment back into the Association has also grown.There is nothing spectacular here, and while it's certainly sound and stable, there is no room for complacency."

Among the headline grabbers is the fact Dublin continues to be the big winner when it comes to getting the share of the GAA's financial resources for games development, with €1.46m allocated to Dublin in 2014, effectively as much as the other 31 counties combined. Leitrim, for example, received just €39,000. However the GAA director general Paraic Duffy defended the numbers, highlighting the fact Dublin employs its own coaching and games administrators, while in all other counties, they are employed by the province.

“This is not a new issue, and has come up for the last number of years,” said Duffy. “Dublin has employed a huge number of coaches the last number of years. Of course we are trying to get the balance right, but it will take time. But we also cannot expect to treat Dublin the same as we would very other county, given the population. I would say the investment in Dublin has been very successful, in terms of participation, especially at club level.”

The financial report also includes accounts for Croke Park Teoranta, which operates the stadium and other commercial events: turnover there was €38.2m, up €9.5m on the previous year, although 2013 only accounted for a 10-month period. The 2014 accounts are for the 12-month period, bringing it in line with the other GAA accounts.

"I would describe it as a very strong year, with some very positive results," said Peter McKenna, Croke Park Stadium director. McKenna also commented on the Garth Brooks "fiasco", suggesting it had damaged "brand Dublin" more than "brand Croke Park", but that more legislation was needed to ensure a similar concert debacle didn't happen again.