Former GAA president Peter Quinn has suggested that Croke Park might make itself available to the government as a national stadium. Quinn is chairman of the finance subcommittee and made his remarks at the opening session of the GAA annual congress in Galway.

When addressing the financial obligations of the GAA in relation to the Croke Park redevelopment, Quinn - a financial consultant - outlined three options open to the association:

"We can pay £5,000,000 a year for 10 years. We can ask the government for a £50,000,000 grant. We can consider leasing Croke Park or we could become the national stadium. I believe we should talk to the government and see if they are interested in doing business."

Questioned afterwards, he complicated the picture a bit by appearing to rule out soccer being played at Croke Park. "I can see a difficulty with any sport which isn't organised on a 32-county basis. But if we go ahead on our own and the government go ahead with their plan, we will be at a disadvantage because other sports will have more money for games development."

This echoes a sentiment expressed by the GAA director general Liam Mulvihill at the launch of his annual report last month. He pointed out that with the GAA committing so much capital to the development of Croke Park, that other sports - presumably soccer and rugby - would be at an advantage if they were able to sell corporate facilities in a government-built stadium.

Whereas Quinn's reservations about soccer would appear to rule out any chance that Croke Park could become a national stadium, it does appear that the door is being left open for rugby - a sport which is run on a 32-county basis.

For the past few years, it has been no secret that GAA officials have privately held out more hope for accommodating rugby at Croke Park than of extending the same facility to soccer. Given that the FAI are determined to pursue their own stadium in Citywest, the notion of rugby being played at Croke Park would create a situation where a third stadium would be unnecessary.

Although it would hardly be considered a national stadium along the lines of the Abbotstown project proposed by the government, it would certainly save a lot of money.

Meanwhile, outgoing GAA president Joe McDonagh last night rejected criticism that he had not done enough to promote the proposals of the Football Development Committee and said that change in the football championship was inevitable even if it didn't come this year.

"There were limitations on the president in this regard," he said, "particularly when it came into the public arena and when it became clear it was going to come to the floor of congress. But you can read between the lines: I was the one who appointed them - fiercely committed and passionate Gaelic football people - and set out the terms of reference for them, an examination of the competitive structures in football."

Speculation continues as to whether a special congress will be convened to consider football's championship structures with even well-placed delegates differing as to whether the president will choose this course.