GAELIC GAMES:ALTHOUGH GATE receipts increased for the first time since 2007, the GAA's overall revenue dropped by €10 million last year. Central Council yesterday revealed an income of €58,015,244 for 2010, a significant decrease from €67.7 million in the previous 12 months.

Commercial revenue remained stable at €19,754,748 so this is directly linked to the decrease in rental income, from €13 million to €4 million, from the FAI and IRFU. With international rugby and soccer having returned to the Aviva Stadium, this figure is expected to decrease further in 2011. Before the temporary opening of Croke Park to soccer and rugby, the 2006 revenue was €43.9 million.

“It has been a challenging but good year for our association,” was the summary of association president Christy Cooney, who stressed the need to remain positive and thanked supporters for their loyalty while also earmarking a review of ticket prices in the coming months.

Gate receipts for 2010 were €25,783,687, an increase of €300,000, but GAA director of finance Tom Ryan described this increase as fortunate, due to high profile replays like Kerry/Cork in football, Galway/Offaly in hurling and the Munster hurling final.

Ryan stated sustaining current match attendances remains the highest priority for the association. “We have done some market research as to what it is that gets people to go to matches or what it is that maybe precludes people from going to matches, said Ryan.

“And there’s far more to it than purely the admission prices. As we outlined there, our fortunes depend very much on admission prices on a very small number of games really so tinkering with those is not something we would do lightly. We’ll keep an eye on things and see how they go throughout the league and assess things from there.”

Of the 370 intercounty games only 39 are profitable, Ryan explained, with less than 10 in Croke Park and Semple Stadium generating serious returns. “It’s one thing we are very conscious of, €26 million (in gate receipts), which is ahead of where we thought we would be. Commercial revenues for the year were stable, more or less where we started the year. The cost of staging matches increased by €1 million, and we distributed €11 million to clubs and counties purely to meet their ongoing operating costs.

“The single biggest investment we make in any year is games development and that was the case again in 2010 with €11 million going into it.”

Player welfare investment increased to €3,092,310 from just under €2 million. This was to help facilitate the Gaelic Players Association and their projects.

Ryan took encouragement from so many media contracts and sponsorship deals being safely in place at present “but we know some of those revenues will decline in 2011, but that’s explainable by the fact there are less televised games (dropping from 50 to 40 this year).

“It’s reassuring to see commercial income the same, gate receipts we are in control of our own destiny, but commercial revenues we are very much dependent on external parties.”

The International Rules series against Australia cost €1.2 million to host and yielded a €300,000 profit but the away series will only generate cost. The All Stars – including awards, meals and ceremonies – cost €400,000.

In reassuring news for the 200 GAA coaches, many of which are also players, around the country, the funding for their positions will not be altered in 2011. Sports Council funding and other state funding remains largely intact but, again, this can change when the new government settles.

There has been several attempts to trim internal costs of the association. Central Council operational costs were reduced by €1 million to €8 million. Marketing costs have also been cut despite Ryan admitting it is “not something you’d advocate or like to see in an era where you are trying to increase attendances, but reassuringly enough it’s tied in with arrangements we have with sponsors and TV contracts that they undertake in the terms of their contracts quite an amount of that activity”.

The €11 million drop in capital projects is a direct result of the soccer and rugby rental payments drying up.

Central Council total revenue

2010 €58 million

2009 €67.7 million

2008 €64.31 million

2007 €63.2 million

2006 €43.9 million

GAA Gate receipts

2010 €25.8 million

2009 €25.5 million

2008 €26.4 million

2007 €31.5 million

2006 €26.5 million

Football championship gates up €1 million to €12 million.

Hurling championship gates down €1 million to €7 million.

National League gates down €1 million to €3 million.

Total championship attendances – including provinces – down 2 per cent at 1.4 million.