ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Thursday Mar 16, 2023

Irish fans in uproar over suggestion that ‘big games’ should be moved to Croke Park

Irish Independent columnist Martin Breheny has stated that he believes Ireland should play their big games at traditional GAA stadium Croke Park as opposed to the Irish rugby home of the Aviva Stadium.

ADVERTISEMENT

His argument is that with a higher capacity of 30,000 people at Croke Park, there would be much better opportunity for revenue.

Stating his case, Breheny said:

“There is a 30,600 differential there for all of those games,

“If you take, for instance, the England and France games in particular, you would probably sell out 100,000 tickets if you had a stadium of that size.

“Why is it that we are not playing those major games [in Croke Park] – allowing 30,000 more people to attend them?”

The Aviva Stadium did of course pay big money for the naming rights of the previously named Landsdown Road, but Breheny insists that a deal could be made to compensate them should the big matches be relocated.

ADVERTISEMENT

“With the difference between the capacity of Croke Park and the capacity of Lansdowne Road, they would actually earn about €2.5 million extra in gate receipts,

“That is not a made-up number either; it is pretty clear.

“You have 18,500 extra seats, so you sell those at €100 a shot. Then you have another 13,000 on Hill 16 – say €50 each – and you are up at €2.5 million in extra gate receipts for a game in Croke Park as opposed to Lansdowne Road.”

Breheny has been hit with plenty of criticism following his suggestion, with many fans describing it as ‘laughable’.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Marcus Smith confident England will 'stand...

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Stuart Barnes with 'revolutionary' England...

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Unreal try saving tackle shows why Irish...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    Incredible Camera Work During URC Clash Shows Rugby Player’s Athleticism

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Heart Breaking Six Nations Ending For Italy As Scotland Score Long Range Try

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Montpellier Number Eight Zach Mercer Outlandish Attacking Skill

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Damian Penaud Pulls Off a "van der Merwe" in Outrageous French Try

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland Winger James Lowe With World Class Finish In Titanic Battle With France

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 19 HOURS AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 3 DAYS AGO

    Close Up Angle Of La Rochelle Secondrow Will Skelton Laying Into Opposition

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Referee Luke Pearce Gets Hit Hard In Harlequins vs Saracens Clash

  • 5 DAYS AGO

    Owen Farrell On The Receiving End Of An Illegal Hit

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Refereeing Legend Nigel Owens Breaks Down Freddie Steward Incident

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Sevens magic as 'headed' try brings stadium to its feet

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    Almost 35,000 have now signed petition to reverse new grassroots tackle laws

View All

Funnies

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Whole Irish squad turn up to teammates parents house for drinking session

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Jonathan Sexton Fantastic Comeback Caught On Ref Mic

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Hilarious Footage Of English Players Post Leg Day Workout

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen leaves viewers in stitches with hilarious post-match interview mistake

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    A Look Back At Rugby’s Greatest Ever Film

View All

Amateur

  • 11 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 35 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 19 HOURS AGO

    Italian player cops nine week ban following on field bust up

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Youth and experience combine in an effort to repeat Six Nations upset

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Wales international releases emotional statement after being offered contract that isn’t enough to feed family

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea causes outrage with ‘throat slitting’ gesture

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Smith, Marchant and Murley released from England camp to take part in 'Big Game 14'

View All