Croke Park keen to host annual Premier League friendlies

Croke Park chiefs are keen to make Premier League pre-season friendlies like Wednesday night's clash between Manchester United and Leeds regular events.

The match between the long-standing rivals was the first game of soccer to be played at the home of the GAA since 2009, but was seen as a huge success as a sell-out crowd of 75,000 watched Manchester United beat their old rivals on penalties.

The only previous times soccer had been played at the venue were between 2007 and 2009 when it served as the temporary home of the Republic of Ireland during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road.

But Peter McKenna, Croke Park’s stadium and commercial director, is keen to change that to find new revenue streams to put into the GAA.

"I’d love it if we could," McKenna said. "We’re working with a partner, TEG Sport, and that’s what we’ll be charging them with, as part of their connection with us, to see how we do this in a more consistent, proper way.

"Something that’s regular, and can be anticipated and planned for, is a far better style of event."

In 2005, the GAA amended its Rule 42, temporarily opening up its grounds to hosting other sports on a temporary basis, before the policy was lifted permanently in 2010.

Since then, Croke Park has hosted a number of major international and domestic rugby matches, the NFL and college American football, and other events.

The change was not universally welcomed, but opposition has gradually reduced.

"Some people have a view and they make that view known," McKenna said. "I think we all respect that. My role and the role of my teams is to try and generate as much revenue as we can. Eighty-three per cent of what we take in is redistributed through our association.

"Croke Park is a big financial engine for the association."

In an ideal world, McKenna said he would love to see an annual Premier League pre-season fixture in Dublin, but admitted that would create challenges.

"I think there’s only a small number of teams that can actually make it happen," he said of filling a stadium which has a capacity of 82,500 – lower on Wednesday night as capacity in the terraced section was reduced.

"Manchester United would certainly be one of them. Liverpool and Arsenal have well established fan bases in Ireland.

"The Premier League teams are also notoriously hard to pin down. They are just focused on the next couple of matches and transfers and everything else.

"This is the last thing on their mind so we’re just trying to probe around the edges, and do our best to secure things early so we can fit them into our calendar."

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