The Central Games Administration Committee expects the fourth-round qualifiers double bill scheduled for Croke Park on Saturday week will attract between 40,000 and 50,000.
There was some surprise yesterday when it was announced that the Tyrone-Monaghan and Laois-Derry fixtures would be played at Croke Park given the small attendance at last weekend's Ulster final replay.
"We took that into account," said CGAC chair Tony O'Keeffe. "The thinking was that the two matches in Croke Park would attract a very large attendance.
"Monaghan brought a big crowd for the National League finals. Monaghan-Tyrone and Laois-Derry are very attractive matches and would create a good bit of interest amongst neutrals."
O'Keeffe was explaining the thinking behind yesterday's fixtures decisions, which saw the Mayo-Cavan match fixed for Hyde Park and Cork's meeting with Sligo scheduled for Portlaoise.
He also said that CGAC would release details of the third and fourth All-Ireland quarter-finals later today. It is expected that the double bill scheduled for Croke Park on Saturday, August 13th will be staged on separate days.
Despite disappointment in Cavan that the county wouldn't be playing at Croke Park, where the county hasn't appeared since 1997, O'Keeffe said that the committee couldn't have been sure of getting sufficiently large numbers for this weekend's qualifiers.
"We initially felt that Cavan-Mayo would pull a good crowd but to stage a double bill at Croke Park on a Saturday, we would need to be confident of getting a significant crowd because there is an understanding that the residents shouldn't be disturbed on Saturdays for matches that can be played in other venues."
According to O'Keeffe the figure at which Croke Park becomes viable is over 40,000. "The ball park is around that. Clones takes 35,000 but anything over that in football and Croke Park is the obvious choice.
We're expecting to get between 40,000 and 50,000 to the Laois-Derry and Monaghan-Tyrone double bill."
In relation to the second pair of All-Ireland quarter-finals there have been no details released. With Dublin and Armagh both scheduled to be on the same double bill it is expected that the two quarter-finals will be separated.
"There'll be an announcement on that tomorrow ," according to O'Keeffe. There were a few things to be done and some people to consult."
It is believed that the date being looked at for the quarter-final is Saturday, August 20th but should the match end in a draw it would require the eventual winners to play for three successive weeks.
The CGAC chair pointed out that Dublin would almost certainly play the winners of Monaghan-Tyrone.
Should Derry and Tyrone both reach the quarter-final stage, Derry will have to play Armagh because under guidelines drawn up last autumn, a provincial final pairing may not be drawn together again before the All-Ireland semi-final stage.
O'Keeffe also defended the decision to stage the hurling quarter-final in Croke Park.
"The funny thing about that is that none of the county boards or teams involved in the quarter-finals supported the idea of playing their matches in Thurles."
