POLITICIANS FROM Government and Opposition parties yesterday asked the FAI and IRFU to reconsider the decision not to play any major international fixtures in Croke Park once the new Aviva Stadium in Lansdowne Road opens later this year.
Members of the Oireachtas all-party committee on Arts, Sports and Tourism yesterday argued that Croke Park, with a capacity of 80,000, would be better than the 50,000-seat Aviva Stadium for high-profile international games like Ireland v England in rugby and World Cup soccer qualifiers.
A number of TDs and Senators from the committee visited the new stadium in south Dublin recently. Committee chairman Tom Kitt yesterday said that while impressed with the new stadium, he was concerned that its capacity for major rugby and soccer international would be an issue.
Mayo Fine Gael deputy John O’Mahony, who is also the manager of the county’s senior football team, said the decision by both associations to revert to Lansdowne Road was an opportunity missed.
“If there’s an Ireland versus England rugby game, the maximum number of fans should be allowed to see the game. Tickets for those games in Lansdowne Road will be as dear as tickets for the World Cup finals,” he said.
The administrative heads of the three major sporting organisations, Páraic Duffy of the GAA, Philip Browne of the IRFU, and John Delaney of the FAI, were part of a delegations which appeared before the committee yesterday to discuss cutbacks.
Mr Browne explained that the business plan for the stadium had been drawn up five years ago. He said that the IRFU had raised €106 million, and the FAI some €80 million, on top of the €191 million funded by the Government.
He said that at this stage it was not possible to “unwind” a set of commercial contracts, including Aviva’s contract for naming rights, which will be in place for 10 years.
Mr Duffy said that the GAA had build up a very good working relationship with the two other organisations. “I respect their view. If they want to change, we will speak to them,” he said.
Sarah O’Connor, representing the Federation of Irish Sports, underlined the importance of sport in Ireland in the course of the opening submission, pointing out that the overall funding of the Sports Council was less than 20 per cent of the funds available from the National Lottery.
Ard-Rúnaí of the Camogie Association Sinead O’Connor pointed out that funding had addressed some structural problems, such as the much lower participation of sport by women in Irish society.
She said that some 50 per cent of men play sport but only 30 per cent of women. Her view won strong support from Labour TD Mary Upton, who also argued for more sharing of facilities between different sports.
Mr Browne also pointed out the economic dividend. He said that the Ireland versus England game in Croke Park in 2007 had been worth €83 million to the economy. A study of the Munster versus Ospreys game in Thomond Park in April found it was worth €10 million to the economy in Limerick.
Mr Delaney said that funding for sport could not be “turned on and off like a water tap”.
Pat Hickey of the Olympic Council of Ireland said that any cuts for athletes in the run-up to the London games in 2012 would be an “absolute disaster”.