Loyal supporters rewarded

GAELIC GAMES TICKET PACKAGE FOR 2011:THE GAA announced their season ticket package for 2011 yesterday and, for the third consecutive year, an incentive scheme is in place whereby those who attend 60 per cent of their counties league and championship matches become eligible to purchase All-Ireland final tickets should their team make it to September.

They are good tickets as well – 1,000 Tipperary hurling supporters who purchased season tickets were seated in section 305 of the Cusack Stand, which is around halfway, for the All-Ireland victory over Kilkenny at Croke Park.

“We introduced this in the first place to reward loyal supporters to make sure they get their hands on an All-Ireland final ticket,” said GAA ticket manager Ronan Murphy. “‘Be there every step of the way’ is the tag line on the ad and that’s exactly what it’s about.

“The base price for adults is €75 (€10 for under-16s), for that you get all your counties league matches and the opening championship fixture.

“In addition to that you get further discounts (of €5) throughout the championship,” Murphy continued.

“Obviously with the nature of our competition we don’t know who is going to go in which direction what with the qualifiers so we can’t fix the price,” continued Murphy.

“We track attendances – that’s how we tell if people are going to matches or if they qualify for an All-Ireland final ticket. You need to attend 60 per cent of your matches over the course of the year.”

Murphy stated a decision on championship ticket pricing will be confirmed early next year.

A stand ticket for the All-Ireland football and hurling finals in 2010 cost €70, a terrace ticket was €35, comparing favourably with the prices (€90-€100) for international rugby matches last month; a policy that the IRFU admitted was a failure. The failure to reach full capacity at the Aviva Stadium has since forced them to reduce their prices for the Six Nations.

“We are very aware that people are struggling out there and our prices will reflect that in a sensible way. Our prices start at a much lower level, say, to an international rugby match,” said GAA director general Páraic Duffy.

Duffy also welcomed the proposal floated by AFL club Melbourne to play Dublin, potentially at Croke Park, next year as a way to honour legendary Australian Rules footballer Jim Stynes.

Dubliner Stynes won a minor football All-Ireland title with the county in 1984 before switching codes.

However, Duffy warned of the logistical difficulties that would follow attempts to host such a fixture.

“They have made no contact with us. There was a proposal a few years back when Collingwood thought about playing a game in Dublin but the first that I knew about this is when I saw it in the paper.

“But, look, I presume it is Dublin that they would want to play and we would have to find out more about it to see if it is a runner. The problem next year is that we are due to go to Australia in October and we don’t have much of a window after that.”