Numbers adding up for GAA

2003 ATTENDANCES: Sean Moran talks to Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna who explains how the ground's debt repayment schedule is progressing.

Last year's Croke Park attendances were very encouraging for the GAA and keep the association on course to clear the redevelopment debt by 2015. Stadium director Peter McKenna said he was "very happy" with the match figures. Although the championship average was down by 3,000 on 2002 - 59,271 as opposed to 62,760 - there are a number of reasons for the GAA to be more than pleased with the outcome.

First, the venue hosted a greater number of championship matches last year, mostly fixtures with less obvious box-office appeal such as the Leinster triple-decker in May, which had an attendance of only 17,142. Second, it was a low-key year for the Dublin footballers, who were involved in all of 2002's capacity days up to the All-Ireland final and, third, the novelty factor associated with opening the stadium in 2002 can be presumed to have subsided a little.

Croke Park last year, over 17 matches, averaged the same crowd that attended the 1987 All-Ireland hurling final. Soaring attendances are an important part of the equation as the GAA tries to match improved revenue to the costs of the redevelopment.

"We prepare a budget every year, which has to get sanction from management," says McKenna. "But we also had to look at 10-year forecasts in huge detail in order to take borrowings up to €98 million. Banks demand a business plan and it has to include costs of repairs and renewals, estimating the life spans of escalators and lifts and refurbishment of premium boxes.

"They wanted a lot of detail on current account revenues and we didn't factor in things like potential Government support or alternative uses of the ground. We made no assumptions going forward."

This means the debt repayment schedule isn't relying on additional income from the lease of Croke Park to other sports - however welcome such extra revenue would be. Neither is the GAA counting on the Government coming up with the outstanding €38 million of the grant promised to the association in 2001.

Consequently it's not surprising McKenna presents the debt repayment plan as fairly austere. Risks factored in include prospects for the economy, the continuation of good crowd figures and long-term interest rates.

"They are tough numbers to achieve, very, very tight and require a substantial contribution from Central Council (cumulatively €21,500,000). Things can always turn against you but they are achievable."

Work has already begun on the latest initiative in Croke Park, the building of a hotel on Jones's Road. Funded initially by private investors, who will eventually be bought out by the GAA, the hotel will within the next month announce its commercial operator who will pay rent to the association.

But the project won't be a money-spinner for a while and isn't expected to have cleared its start-up costs within the period of the scheduled debt repayment. On that basis it wasn't included in the financial plan although it will obviously be a significant contributor from then on. More immediately it fulfils the function of adding to the attraction of Croke Park for non-match business.

"We won't be cash positive from that for a while," says McKenna of the hotel. "It's a long-term play but it's a major benefit to the use of the site, which had been costing because of security."

The flip side of the new venue's popularity is that less important fixtures are less economical to stage. But a number of last year's matches were staged despite running at a loss, including the club finals, National Football League semi-finals and final and the women's finals in the autumn.

"We strike a balance at around 20 matches with a 32,000 crowd at €20 per head, which is the break-even," says McKenna. "The costs include security and the fixed costs of the stadium. We budget for the high ticket price end games, which gives a degree of flexibility for the lower price, mid-attendance fixtures.

"That allows us experiment, as happened with the triple header last May, which wasn't a particular success but unless you try it and see how it goes you don't know that. I'd say we wouldn't do it again. But then earlier in the year we tried the Dublin-Armagh League game here and it worked very well."

TG4'S NATIONAL LEAGUE SCHEDULE

Sat, Jan 31st: NFL - Cork v Westmeath, Pairc Ui Rinn, 7.15.

Sun, Feb 1st: NFL - Dublin v Tyrone, Parnell Park, 2.15.

Sat, Feb 7th: NFL - Kerry v Cork, Austin Stack Park, 7.15.

Sun, Feb 8th: NFL - Galway v Armagh, Pearse Stadium, 2.15.

Sat, Feb 14th: NFL - Cork v Mayo, Pairc Ui Rinn, 7.15.

Sun, Feb 15th: All-Ireland club hurling semi-final - Newtownshandrum (Cork) v O'Loughlin Gaels (Kilkenny), Thurles, 2.15.

Sun, Feb 22nd: All-Ireland club football semi-final - Gaeltacht (Kerry) v St Brigid's (Dublin), Thurles, 1.45.

Sat, Feb 28th: Sigerson Cup football final, Corrigan Park, Belfast, 2.15.

Sun, Feb 29th: NHL - Limerick v Tipperary, Gaelic Grounds, 2.15.

Sun, Mar 7th: NFL - Roscommon v Donegal, Hyde Park, 2.15.

Sun, Mar 14th: NHL - Galway v Clare, Pearse Stadium, 1.45. NFL - Westmeath v Kerry, Mullingar, 3.15.

OTHER DATES: Sun, Mar 21st: NFL - Round six, 2.15. Sun, Mar 28th: NHL - Round five, 3.15. Sun April 4th: NFL - Round seven, 3:15. Sun, Apr 11th: NHL - TBC. Sun, Apr 18th: NFL - semi-finals, 1:45.Sun, Apr 25th: NHL - TBC. Sun, May 2nd: NFL - final, 1:45. Sun, May 9th: NHL - final, TBC.

CROKE PARK2003 attendances

Feb 2nd: NFL game Dublin v Armagh ... 54,432

Mar 17th: All-Ireland club finals Birr v Dunloy, Nemo Rangers v Crossmolina ... 26,235

Apr 20th: NFL semi-finals Tyrone v Fermanagh, Laois v Armagh ... 27,071

May 4th: NFL finals Westmeath v Limerick, Tyrone v Laois ... 30,293

May 5th: NHL final Kilkenny v Tipperary ... 17,453

May 11th: Leinster SFC Louth v Wicklow, Laois v Wexford, Westmeath v Carlow ... 17,142

June 1st: Leinster SFC Dublin v Louth, Meath v Westmeath ... 63,756

June 14th: Leinster SFC Kildare v Meath ... 29,630

June 15th: Leinster SFC Laois v Dublin, All-Ireland SH qualifier Offaly v Dublin ... 57,615

July 5th: All-Ireland SF qualifiers Donegal v Tipperary, Armagh v Dublin ... 63,143

July 6th: Leinster SHC final Kilkenny v Wexford ... 48,840

July 20th: Leinster SFC final Laois v Kildare ... ... 61,786

July 27th: All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals Wexford v Antrim, Tipperary v Offaly ... 46,076

Aug 3rd: All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals Tyrone v Fermanagh, Armagh v Laois ... 76,195

Aug 4th: All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals Kerry v Roscommon, Donegal v Galway ... 56,296

Aug 10th: All-Ireland SHC semi-final Cork v Wexford ... 59,435

Aug 16th: All-Ireland SHC semi-final replay Cork v Wexford ... 46,760

Aug 17th: All-Ireland SHC semi-final Kilkenny v Tipperary ... 60,087

Aug 24th: All-Ireland SFC semi-final Tyrone v Kerry ... 58,687

Aug 31st: All-Ireland SFC semi-final Armagh v Donegal ... 76,321

Sept 14th: All-Ireland SHC final Kilkenny v Cork ... 79,383

Sept 21st: All-Ireland camogie finals Galway v Clare, Tipperary v Cork ... 16,183

Sept 28th: All-Ireland SFC final Tyrone v Armagh ... 79,391

Oct 5th: All-Ireland women's football finals Donegal v Kildare, Mayo v Dublin ... 30,437

TOTAL ATTENDANCES: ... 1,182,647

TOTAL PROGRAMMES: ... 24

AVERAGE: ... 49,276

TOTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: ... 1,007,614

TOTAL PROGRAMMES: ... 17

AVERAGE: ... 59,271 2002

2002 TOTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: ... 878,649

TOTAL PROGRAMMES: ... 14

AVERAGE: ... 62,760