Croker may seek slice of government stadium pie

By Mark Jones

DUBLIN — Following the decision by the Irish government to guarantee the soccer authorities a minimum of £45 million over the next three years to become an anchor tenant at the proposed national stadium, the GAA is certain to now to request additional funding for the redevelopment of Croke Park.

Former association president Peter Quinn is adamant that the GAA should be in line for a substantial payout from the treasury in the light of the historic deal brokered with the soccer’s governing body, the FAI. And sources within the GAA are suggesting that the demand could be as much as £50 million.

"I certainly feel that we should go back to the government for additional funding to level the playing field," said Quinn, who is also chairman of the GAA’s Strategic Review Committee. "No other sports organization does as much for this country as the GAA and no other sports organization is entitled to as much grant aid as the GAA."

While the GAA is certainly in need of extra funding given that the costs of transforming Croke Park into a state-of-the-art 80,000-seat stadium have now risen to £174 million, that money may not be easily secured as, in effect, the association’s stadium may ultimately compete for similar events as the government’s proposed Stadium Ireland project at Abbotstown, West Dublin, which is due to open in 2005.

The GAA has already received £25 million in funding from the treasury for Croke Park and the association has supported the idea of Stadium Ireland from the outset, but the director general, Liam Mulvihill, has made it clear that major games would not be transferred to Abbotstown.

"We will not be transferring premier events from our own stadium unless it is necessary to do so, but we can envisage situations where the availability of an alternative venue will be of use to us," Mulvilhill has said.

Meanwhile, Quinn says he is disappointed by the reaction to the FAI’s deal with the government compared to the outcry that followed the decision to offer the GAA money in 1997. "When we got £20 million from the government, so many people were criticizing the GAA, but the FAI has got considerably more and there hasn’t been a word," he said. "It doesn’t seem to be a case of how much money is given out, but who gets it. It’s disappointing that GAA is the only one that gets all sort of negative criticism."

If the GAA decides to lift the current ban on sports such as rugby and soccer being played at the association’s grounds in an effort to gain extra revenue to finance the redevelopment of Croke Park, it could come into direct conflict with the government’s plans for Stadium Ireland. Already three motions concerning the controversial Rule 42 are up for discussion as next month’s Congress in Dublin and one is specifically concerned with opening up Croke Park to other sports.

The Kilmore club in Roscommon suggests that: "Central Council shall have the power to authorize the use of Croke Park in certain circumstances for field games other than those controlled by the association." While motions in the past have pushed for amending the rule in relation to all GAA grounds, because the Kilmore motion deals only with Croke Park, it could be looked on favorably.