Although construction work on the ground tier of the new Hogan Stand is still in its infancy, the GAA yesterday confirmed that the corporate boxes and premium level seats have already been sold, generating revenue of £18.5 million.

A waiting list has already been drawn up for potential customers interested in the hospitality suites and premium seats in the Canal End, which are scheduled for completion to coincide with the peak of the forthcoming championship season.

Those who invested in Hogan Stand offers will be accommodated in the Canal End facilities until the Hogan development has been declared open.

"We did not advertise this year, but have obviously been very successful in terms of selling the Hogan Stand facilities," said Dermot Power, Croke Park's development manager.

"I remember Peter Quinn made a remark at Congress last year in relation to the economy to the effect that `I'm not saying there will never be as good a time but there will never be a better time' and given the expenditure involved with Croke Park, it was important that we got the maximum income, hence the decision to sell the Hogan facilities before those on the Canal End."

Power attributed the phenomenal sales response to the popularity of the games, the buoyant economy, the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the corporate boxes and premium levels in the new Cusack Stand - and to the GAA's own pricing policy.

"We didn't want the boxes to be solely corporate in terms of big firms, but wanted to make it attractive to individuals as well. All of these seats and boxes have been essentially sold on the recommendation of existing customers. We had set ourselves a target of four years for this and to have arrived at it already is a tremendous vote of confidence."

"Super" corporate boxes in the new Hogan structure sold at £320,000 for a 10-year lease while single boxes went at £160,000. Super suites are located above centre field and have their own private facilities. Double suites, which cater for 30 people, sold at £300,000 for 10 years, while executive suites, which can accommodate parties of 18, were listed at £220,000.

There had been increasing demand for larger suites, prompting a decision to reduce the single suite facilities in the new structure. Hence, the new Hogan Stand will have 28 corporate suites, as opposed to the existing 46 on the Cusack side.

Premium level seats were priced at £5,500 for 10 years and £3,000 for five years. In general, prices were raised by 10 per cent on those set during the sale of seats in the Cusack stand.

It is unlikely that the Hogan Stand will be fully operational until early 2002 - when the ground will have a capacity of around 80,000 - but the GAA are confident of having most of the lower tier completed in time for the Leinster finals in August.

"We are aiming to have around 9,000 seats available to the public by August, with a minimum of 1012,000 seats laid in time for the All-Ireland finals," said Liam Mulvihill, director general of the GAA.

He also highlighted the fact that once the three new structures are complete, customers will have free access right across the various tiers. Plans for an extensive Hall of Fame walk have already been laid - athletes selected on the recent hurling and football teams of the millennium will be honoured first - and rest-room facilities and toilets will feature at regular intervals on the concourses throughout the various tiers.

Mulvihill said that development plans for Hill 16 and the Nally Stand have been set aside until Phase Three (Hogan side) has been dealt with. He confirmed that peripheral issues such as floodlighting for the stadium and the possibilities of leasing the facilities for conferences have also been placed on a fairly lengthy agenda.

It was confirmed that the GAA museum has been received very warmly by the public; 56,000 visitors spent time there in 1999, despite very little promotional work. That the rugby museum at Twickenham, which is comparable to the Croke Park facility in terms of scale and vision, has never exceeded 50,000 visitors a year underlines the success of the GAA museum said Mulvihill.

Although Croke Park can accommodate 58,000 people with the Hogan side completely redundant, there remains a doubt about whether or not the venue will be available in time for the All-Ireland club finals on March 17th.

High winds have forced a delay in the erection of the roofing of the Canal stand and unless the fixture is installed soon, the facility will remain out of bounds to the public. That development could well force a change of venue.