GAA NEWS:IT HASN'T gone away you know. A motion calling for the permanent opening of Croke Park to other sports has made it onto the clár of next month's Congress, although probably a year too soon to stir up much of a debate.

Motion 21, submitted by the St Joseph’s club in Miltown Malbay, proposes a minor alteration to Rule 44 (or Rule 42, as it used to be known) which deals with the control of GAA property. The principle of the rule still stands – that all GAA property shall be used only for the purpose of or in connection with the playing of games controlled by the Association – but the rule note, concerning Central Council’s power to authorise the use of Croke Park for other games, is amended.

The reference “during a temporary period when Lansdowne Road football ground is closed for the proposed development” is removed. In other words, Central Council will have that power indefinitely, not just while Lansdowne Road is being redeveloped, as agreed at Congress in 2005.

A number of other rules are also affected by this temporary power – such as Association aims, ideals, etc – but as things stand these rules will also revert to their pre-Congress 2005 position, once Lansdowne Road is completed.

The experimental yellow-card rule is likely to dominate the 2009 Congress which takes place in Cork on April 17th/18th.

But that doesn’t mean the Croke Park issue won’t be the big talking point this time next year.

With Lansdowne Road – or the Aviva Stadium, to be contractually correct – not due to be completed until autumn 2010, Croke Park is already assured of several more rugby and soccer internationals for the rest of this year and the first half of 2010.

It’s after that when things get interesting. Both the IRFU and FAI have already indicated that once the Lansdowne Road redevelopment is completed they don’t envisage any scenarios whereby Croke Park would be used for either rugby or soccer purposes – despite the latter’s greater capacity of 82,300.

Clearly that was motivated by the financial commitments of the project, including the stadium naming rights, and the selling of corporate boxes.

The GAA, however, haven’t been disguising the fact that allowing other sports into Croke Park has been a huge financial spinner for them.

Last year, rugby and soccer internationals in Croke Park accounted for 34 per cent of the stadium’s income (a massive €11.7 million), compared to just 20 per cent for the playing of Gaelic Games.

This was a sizeable shift on 2007, when 26 per cent came from Gaelic Games, and 24 per cent from rugby and soccer.

The total value of these internationals to date is €18.7 million, and will probably touch on €40 million by the time the arrangement concludes in autumn 2010.

So even if there is no guarantee of any further international matches post-2010, it is clearly in the best interests of the GAA to keep the option open.

The matter was raised by GAA director general Páraic Duffy in his annual report, published earlier this week.

He clearly indicated that any decision regarding the long-term availability of Croke Park for other sports would be a matter for Congress.

“The merits, or otherwise, of opening Croke Park during the period of Lansdowne Road’s redevelopment have been debated at length elsewhere,” said Duffy, “and I have no intention of reopening this debate.

“However, it is important to state that the GAA has benefited significantly in a financial context from the arrangement during this period and we have attempted to ensure a positive legacy in a developmental sense by investing in a strategic fashion in the initiatives outlined (elsewhere in the report).

“I do not expect that once Lansdowne Road (or the Aviva Stadium, as it will be known) reopens in September 2010 that there will be any further requests from other organisation to use Croke Park.

“If, however, an exceptional request is received consideration will be a matter for Congress.”

Duffy also addressed one of the fears of allowing other sports into Croke Park, the impact on the playing surface.

“I am happy to say, however, that once again we witnessed an improvement in the quality of the playing surface in Croke Park in 2008, and that the feedback received from the players in this respect was most positive.”

The Clare motion may not even be debated at next month’s Congress, and instead could be deferred to 2010 – where it may well be the biggest talking point, particularly if Croke Park attendances continue to decline.