Attendances 2019

[sbgawa]

We get quite a lot of Tourists as well, i think people come to Dublin and decide to go to a match (much like i would when abroad).
Depends where they are staying after that and who is at home.
4 Dublin teams in the premier next year so visitors should have plenty of choice.
Will be interesting when Bohs move to Tolka does it impact on tourist numbers , my guess would be no as it will still be convenient for people staying in town.

[marinobohs]

We get quite a lot of Tourists as well, i think people come to Dublin and decide to go to a match (much like i would when abroad).
Depends where they are staying after that and who is at home.
4 Dublin teams in the premier next year so visitors should have plenty of choice.
Will be interesting when Bohs move to Tolka does it impact on tourist numbers , my guess would be no as it will still be convenient for people staying in town.

I suspect it will have a negative impact as the 'home of Irish football' thing is a selling point for Dalymount. also depends on the atmosphere generated at Tolka as we have had a lot o 'word of mouth' positive feedback on Dalymount visits.

[sbgawa]

i honestly doubt many tourists to Ireland know anything about "the home of Irish football" or those coming to Tallaght know we are "Ireland's most successful football club" id say most just go to see a game while they are in town.
If the number drops off while you are in Tolka i guess you will be shown to be right.
The museum assuming it happens will increase the attraction big time and may deliver more in the long run who decide to visit the museum and stay for a match.

[marinobohs]

i honestly doubt many tourists to Ireland know anything about "the home of Irish football" or those coming to Tallaght know we are "Ireland's most successful football club" id say most just go to see a game while they are in town.
If the number drops off while you are in Tolka i guess you will be shown to be right.
The museum assuming it happens will increase the attraction big time and may deliver more in the long run who decide to visit the museum and stay for a match.

As ever its promoting it, whether that be 'most successful club' or 'Home of Irish football', to be fair both clubs have put flyers up around town etc and there is no doubt have gained some visitors for it. there is undoubtedly a market for it and letting tourists know there is a match on is generally a good place to start !

The idea of a museum in the new Dalymount is a good one and hopefully will attract people to the stadium hat otherwise might not visit.With decent facilities, bar, restaurant etc and LUAS stopping close by we should hopefully be able to keep them there to enjoy the match (on derby nights they can have their picture taken with the POU ;)).

[David BOHie]

Updated:

Missing the following games, have estimates included for them at the minute.

Dundalk v Waterford - 1st July
Limerick v Cobh - 26th July
Bray v Drogheda - 21st Sept

PREMIER DIVISION

Bohs - 2,856 (2,148; 2,006; 1,627; 1,724; 1,395; 1,597; 1,496; 1,488)
Cork - 2,505 (4,245; 4,559; 2,533; 3,263; 3,777; 1,965; 2,786; 2,128 FD)
Derry - 2,891 (2,297; 1,517; 1,563; 1,124; 1,106; 1,446; 1,460; 2,135)
Dundalk - 2,761 (2,738; 2,674; 2,738; 3,158; 2,534; 1,997; 949; 1,355)
Harps - 1,153 (708 FD; 1,202; 1,216; 784 FD; 449 FD; 479 FD; 429 FD; 433 FD; 644 FD)
Pat's - 1,820 (1,621; 1,504; 1,088; 1,321; 1,386; 1,687; 1,474; 1,346)
Rovers - 3,522 (2,749; 2,809; 2,041; 2,890; 2,269; 2,763; 3,127; 3,779)
Sligo - 1,995 (1,853; 1,717; 1,750; 1,750; 1,959; 2,342; 3,007; 2,103)
Waterford - 1,653 (2,329; 1,550 FD; 314 FD; 460 FD; 470 FD; 478 FD; 453 FD; 466 FD)
UCD - 735 (365 FD; 236 FD; 297 FD; 216 FD; 397; 487; 506; 558; 610)

FIRST DIVISION

Athlone - 369 (130; 154; 156; 314; 653 PD; 754; 271; 200)
Bray - 798 (643 PD; 966 PD; 957 PD; 769 PD; 718 PD; 891 PD; 965 PD; 1,121 PD)
Cabinteely - 370 (261; 346; 352; 610)
Cobh - 280 (236; 358; 403; 366; 223; 439; 2008 - 1,122 PD; 681)
Drogheda - 928 (377; 850 PD; 583; 813 PD; 1,064 PD; 817 PD; 977 PD; 811 PD)
Galway - 795 (746; 1,376 PD; 1,169 PD; 1,290 PD; 975)
Limerick - 451 (931 PD; 1,610 PD; 1,131; 1,206 PD; 757 PD; 1,649 PD; 734; 569)
Longford - 611 (449; 342; 488 PD; 803 PD; 567; 379; 365; 315)
Shels - 1,075 (654; 496; 554; 596; 713; 1,114 PD; 1,187 PD; 781)
Wexford - 235 (181; 338; 585 PD; 553; 331; 227; 302; 216)

PREMIER AVERAGE: 2,171 (2,170; 1,902; 1,476; 1,681; 1,502; 1,566; 1,630; 1,547)
FIRST DIVISION AVERAGE: 586 (413; 477; 476; 486; 495; 391; 372; 578)

OVERALL AVERAGE: 1,496 (1,249; 1,387; 1,117; 1,249; 1,160; 1,140; 1,125; 1,110)


OVERALL PREMIER ATTENDANCE: 375,658 (316,515; 376,627; 292,204; 332,805; 297,334)
OVERALL FIRST ATTENDANCE: 79,115 (55,756; 53,461; 52,807; 54,474; 55,408)

OVERALL COMBINED ATTENDANCE: 454,773 (372,271; 430,088; 345,011; 387,279; 352,742)

Is this season end final figures, Nigel?

[Nesta99]

If it is and if there is any promotion activity for the league at all, it led to a whole increase of 1 additional person on average that went to premier games - its a nice low base for any new league admin to start from!

[nigel-harps1954]

Is this season end final figures, Nigel?

It's not. I had trouble getting a few attendance figures for the final round and also the Dundalk v Waterford game listed above.

I'll post up a final figure today with what estimates I have in their place.

[EatYerGreens]

If it is and if there is any promotion activity for the league at all, it led to a whole increase of 1 additional person on average that went to premier games - its a nice low base for any new league admin to start from!

Considering UCD drag down the league average, then the average across the other clubs has definitely gone up.

[sbgawa]

Brays attendance in their last year in the premier was lower then ucd this year.

[Bohs11]

It's not. I had trouble getting a few attendance figures for the final round and also the Dundalk v Waterford game listed above.

I'll post up a final figure today with what estimates I have in their place.
Any hope of a 2019 median figure too, please?

[Lim till i die]

I was at 22 or 23 of Limericks league games this season gone (God telpus) as well as four or five league games Limerick weren't involved in and those attendance figures are as usual laughable.

I'm not knocking nigel fairplay to him doing it and it generates traffic for the forum as well as pages and pages and pages of deluded lunacy.

But as a guide to how many people are attending league of Ireland games it's about as useful as the rte guide.

[Nesta99]

I was at 22 or 23 of Limericks league games this season gone (God telpus) as well as four or five league games Limerick weren't involved in and those attendance figures are as usual laughable.

I'm not knocking nigel fairplay to him doing it and it generates traffic for the forum as well as pages and pages and pages of deluded lunacy.

But as a guide to how many people are attending league of Ireland games it's about as useful as the rte guide.

In a positive or negative on figures?

[sbgawa]

If we have established one thing on here its that supporters cant count :)
Its a list of official figures (mostly) perhaps Nigel could put an * against Limerick? :)

[Lim till i die]

In my experience those first division crowds are grossly exaggerated even the teeny tiny ones (cobh haven't had 280 at a league game in years never mind averaging it.) Athlone and Longford are gas as well. Shels averaging four figures in the first division? 900 people going to games in Drogheda? Laughable.

It was ever thus though. Fans who give crowds always always overestimate their own crowds. The FAI encourages (at least used to encourage anyway) clubs to massage the figures upwards as well.

In fairness to Limerick (God telpus) anytime I counted the crowd (it was that kind of a year) and it was announced we were both fairly close. But then some days there'd be no crowd announced. There wasn't the colour of 200 people at our last two home games for example.

[Lim till i die]

If we have established one thing on here its that supporters cant count :)
Its a list of official figures (mostly) perhaps Nigel could put an * against Limerick? :)

And here's a fella who thinks official figures are accurate. :D

[Nesta99]

I think Nigel as much as possible got the officially announced figures, massaged or not, rather than fans own estimates.

It's true though and a strange one as try as ye might to guesstimate the crowds in Oriel, for example, few ever seem to be the same as the official attendance. Some have been estimated as below 3000 yet on the basics of stand, shed, and away section full that would be 3k and not counting home terrace or behind town goal. Another night and 1800 would be a guess and 2300 is called out. So who knows! The policy of counting tickets sold including season tickets rather than people actually in the ground will skew any guage for guessing.

[sbgawa]

And here's a fella who thinks official figures are accurate. :D

Mostly i think they are accurate within reason but in fairness what figures can be used to have a discussion or comparisons other than official figures.
At least from a making comparisons YOY the inaccuracies youd hope would be consistant...(probably , maybe , possibly)

[wonder88]

I felt the Galway crowds were bigger than the number actually there this year. This may be due to including season tickets.

[Asterix]

180 for an adult season ticket at rovers next season. Think its been 230 previous years, some value, hopefully lowering the price works and more people buy them. 100 for 2nd/3rd lvl students and oaps, 20 for under 14s.

[D24Saint]

180 for an adult season ticket at rovers next season. Think its been 230 previous years, some value, hopefully lowering the price works and more people buy them. 100 for 2nd/3rd lvl students and oaps, 20 for under 14s.

Id say they will sell well at that price. Is that for a seat or just entrance ?

[sbgawa]

It's all seated.
Great deal tbf

[D24Saint]

It's all seated.
Great deal tbf

I phrased the question wrong I meant an assigned seat number for every game.

[Ezeikial]

180 for an adult season ticket at rovers next season. Think its been 230 previous years, some value, hopefully lowering the price works and more people buy them. 100 for 2nd/3rd lvl students and oaps, 20 for under 14s.

Strong if risky initiative from Rovers to reduce from €210 last season to €180. Although it should help to attract new buyers it is of little use if it only transfers revenue from match day sales into season tickets. Some €300 reserved seat ST holders could also decide to trade down. It will need to attract over 15% extra or new customers to be revenue neutral. No doubt it represents cracking value to watch a decent footballing side in an excellent stadium and will be warmly received among the existing support

The €20 offer for children is practically risk free and is a brilliant intiative to build the supporter base and make use of the spare capacity in Tallaght Stadium

Kudos to those involved

[D24Saint]

Every club in the league should copy the €20 for kids ST imo.

[nigel-harps1954]

Every club in the league should copy the €20 for kids ST imo.

It is an interesting one. Kids go free in Finn Park, but I'd wonder is it more beneficial to charge a nominal price and sell kids season tickets instead.

[SeanDrog]

It is an interesting one. Kids go free in Finn Park, but I'd wonder is it more beneficial to charge a nominal price and sell kids season tickets instead.

We did it this season, u14s were free but for 20e kids could joined the drogster club which gave them merchandise and a land yard season ticket with their name etc for games which made them feel more part of the club. As a parent I thought it was a fab initiative.

[nigel-harps1954]

Final update I suppose.

These are the only games, beside Derry fixtures, that I have estimated figures for. Everything else is official figures.

Dundalk v Waterford - 1st July
Dundalk v St Pats - 25th Oct
Limerick v Cobh - 26th July

Generally have had no issue getting Dundalk attendances, so I've no idea why these weren't made available.


PREMIER DIVISION

Bohs - 2,878 (2,148; 2,006; 1,627; 1,724; 1,395; 1,597; 1,496; 1,488)
Cork - 2,505 (4,245; 4,559; 2,533; 3,263; 3,777; 1,965; 2,786; 2,128 FD)
Derry - 2,878 (2,297; 1,517; 1,563; 1,124; 1,106; 1,446; 1,460; 2,135)
Dundalk - 2,775 (2,738; 2,674; 2,738; 3,158; 2,534; 1,997; 949; 1,355)
Harps - 1,153 (708 FD; 1,202; 1,216; 784 FD; 449 FD; 479 FD; 429 FD; 433 FD; 644 FD)
Pat's - 1,887 (1,621; 1,504; 1,088; 1,321; 1,386; 1,687; 1,474; 1,346)
Rovers - 3,445 (2,749; 2,809; 2,041; 2,890; 2,269; 2,763; 3,127; 3,779)
Sligo - 1,995 (1,853; 1,717; 1,750; 1,750; 1,959; 2,342; 3,007; 2,103)
Waterford - 1,597 (2,329; 1,550 FD; 314 FD; 460 FD; 470 FD; 478 FD; 453 FD; 466 FD)
UCD - 735 (365 FD; 236 FD; 297 FD; 216 FD; 397; 487; 506; 558; 610)

FIRST DIVISION

Athlone - 369 (130; 154; 156; 314; 653 PD; 754; 271; 200)
Bray - 798 (643 PD; 966 PD; 957 PD; 769 PD; 718 PD; 891 PD; 965 PD; 1,121 PD)
Cabinteely - 370 (261; 346; 352; 610)
Cobh - 280 (236; 358; 403; 366; 223; 439; 2008 - 1,122 PD; 681)
Drogheda - 928 (377; 850 PD; 583; 813 PD; 1,064 PD; 817 PD; 977 PD; 811 PD)
Galway - 795 (746; 1,376 PD; 1,169 PD; 1,290 PD; 975)
Limerick - 451 (931 PD; 1,610 PD; 1,131; 1,206 PD; 757 PD; 1,649 PD; 734; 569)
Longford - 611 (449; 342; 488 PD; 803 PD; 567; 379; 365; 315)
Shels - 1,075 (654; 496; 554; 596; 713; 1,114 PD; 1,187 PD; 781)
Wexford - 235 (181; 338; 585 PD; 553; 331; 227; 302; 216)

PREMIER AVERAGE: 2,185 (2,170; 1,902; 1,476; 1,681; 1,502; 1,566; 1,630; 1,547)
FIRST DIVISION AVERAGE: 586 (413; 477; 476; 486; 495; 391; 372; 578)

OVERALL AVERAGE: 1,500 (1,249; 1,387; 1,117; 1,249; 1,160; 1,140; 1,125; 1,110)


OVERALL PREMIER ATTENDANCE: 393,238 (316,515; 376,627; 292,204; 332,805; 297,334)
OVERALL FIRST ATTENDANCE: 79,115 (55,756; 53,461; 52,807; 54,474; 55,408)

OVERALL COMBINED ATTENDANCE: 472,353 (372,271; 430,088; 345,011; 387,279; 352,742)

[nigel-harps1954]

Couple of notes:

Encouraging to see 17 of the 20 teams mark an increase on their average attendance figure this season.

Less than 7,000 attendees away from breaking 400,000 through Premier Division gates this season.

Highest total number of attendees since I started collecting figures in 2012 season.

Shamrock Rovers accounted for the top 6 attendance figures themselves, 7,021 being their highest. St Pat's (4,389) and Cork City (4,382) make up the next two highest.

Worth noting that Bohemians had several 'sell out' fixtures this season though, four of their fixtures broke 3,500 attendees, and they're the only club in the League of Ireland who didn't mark down an attendance of less than 2,000 this season.

Drogheda Uniteds final home game in the regulation season was listed as a sell out in United Park. 2,596 people went through the gates for the highest First Division attendance of the season.

Despite their poor season, Galway United had the second highest attendance figure in the First Division at 2,174 in their opening game in Deacy Park.

Shelbourne posted 1,655 and 1,647 in their final two games for the next two highest figures. Top five is rounded off by Bray Wanderers with 1,428.

In total, there were 17 games in the First Division above 1,000 attendees, which is the highest in quite a few years. Shels with 7 and Bray with 5 accounted for the majority.

[EatYerGreens]

Strong if risky initiative from Rovers to reduce from €210 last season to €180. Although it should help to attract new buyers it is of little use if it only transfers revenue from match day sales into season tickets. Some €300 reserved seat ST holders could also decide to trade down. It will need to attract over 15% extra or new customers to be revenue neutral. No doubt it represents cracking value to watch a decent footballing side in an excellent stadium and will be warmly received among the existing support

The €20 offer for children is practically risk free and is a brilliant intiative to build the supporter base and make use of the spare capacity in Tallaght Stadium

Kudos to those involved

But that is literally the whole idea behind season tickets. Get people committed up front and their money in the bank early. Rather than risk them making fewer fixtures if results are bad, they get busy at work, have weddings etc to go to etc etc. Season Tickets also enable better financial planning than just waiting to see how many pay in for each fixture.

[D24Saint]

But that is literally the whole idea behind season tickets. Get people committed up front and their money in the bank early. Rather than risk them making fewer fixtures if results are bad, they get busy at work, have weddings etc to go to etc etc. Season Tickets also enable better financial planning than just waiting to see how many pay in for each fixture.

100% spot on imo, particularly about financial planning.

[Ezeikial]

But that is literally the whole idea behind season tickets. Get people committed up front and their money in the bank early. Rather than risk them making fewer fixtures if results are bad, they get busy at work, have weddings etc to go to etc etc. Season Tickets also enable better financial planning than just waiting to see how many pay in for each fixture.

Yep, that's a reasonable summary of the rationale behind why clubs offer a discounted season ticket. There are other benefits including potentially a greater matchday spend and a spin-off for cup and european ticket sales

But my comments related to the risky nature of the initiative of the sizable reduction in adult unreserved season tickets from €210 to €180. It was already reasonably priced and a reduction in price was hardly needed to get existing ST holders to renew. It could easily result in a significant reduction in the overall revenue well beyond the normal discounts provided in exchange for the benefits to the club you outline.

I don't know the exact numbers involved, but if there are an existing 1000 who renew at the reduced price that's a chopping off €30,000 straight away from people who are likely to renew anyway at €210. Then there is the massive €120 gap between reserved and unreserved seats - if it only influences 100 supporters to switch to the lower cost ST that means starting off down €42,000.

That's all before you examine where the new buyers are likely to come from. It's probably impossible to measure how many matches the new season ticket buyer would otherwise attend. Even if that average number was as low as 10 league matches and the club succeeded in selling 200 season tickets as a direct result of the discount, the gain is as low as €6,000.

Discounted season tickets make sense for any club once the discount is not too large or disproportionate . Large discounts though will always be popular with existing fans

Spending the money on attracting new customers to try to fill the spare capacity might be a more worthwhile investment

[marinobohs]

But that is literally the whole idea behind season tickets. Get people committed up front and their money in the bank early. Rather than risk them making fewer fixtures if results are bad, they get busy at work, have weddings etc to go to etc etc. Season Tickets also enable better financial planning than just waiting to see how many pay in for each fixture.
The point is by having a hefty decrease in price you need a significant update in numbers sold to break even. It’s a fair point.

Great initiative by shams and with plenty of spare capacity I can see it bearing fruit. Match atmosphere is almost as much a draw on potential support as team success, bigger crowds usually lead to even bigger crowds 😁

[Nesta99]

Ye would like to think that the decision was based on some potential market research rather than a hopeful punt. Some LoI clubs are getting to grips with becoming more appealing to their community beyond what silverware generates. Hopefully the great value offered by Rovers' season tickets do the job!

[Ezeikial]

Shamrock Rovers director Mark Lynch on Rovers season ticket pricing initiative


Those regular season ticket prices for Tallaght Stadium represent a €30 drop in price from last season and are part of an initiative the club has committed to in order to try to increase attendances and attract new fans who will stay for the long-term.

“The drop is part of the strategic plan to increase attendances,” says board director Mark Lynch (https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=Mark+Lynch). “Two years ago we introduced kids go free so on buying an adult season ticket you got up to three kids to go free. The idea was to get children into going to live games as early as possible and that was very successful. Not only did we sell more tickets than before, obviously you’re giving away up to three kids tickets with an adult, but we also increased the value in revenue from them. It wasn’t just that we sold more physical tickets, we sold more money’s worth of tickets.

“That initiative was to incentivise and encourage young families to come to Tallaght Stadium. We’ve obviously got a fantastic stadium which is very family friendly. We’ve got all the facilities of a modern stadium as well as parking, the Luas on our doorstep, bus routes as well so no blocks for a family to enjoy a night out. So for an adult and three kids at that price of €210 you’re in effect paying roughly €15 for four people to go to a live game, per match. That showed us that there is a marketplace if the price is right.”

Last season Rovers had around 2,000 season tickets in circulation and although a portion of those are given out for free to players, academy players and partner clubs, the figures are still significant. With the introduction of the south stand, Tallaght Stadium now has a capacity of 8,000 and Rovers came close to filling it last season for the Dublin derby when 7,021 turned out to watch Stephen Bradley’s side end their losing run against rivals Bohemians.



Lynch says that dropping prices still presents quite a risk for the Tallaght club. Indeed Rovers made losses of just under €100,000 in the year to the end of last November, as reported in The Irish Times last month (https://www.irishtimes.com/business/companies/rovers-has-balance-sheet-deficits-of-2m-ahead-of-proposed-desmond-deal-1.4060682).


“We kind of broke even last year, the season 2019, but the previous year The Irish Times reported on losses so it’s not like we’re sitting on a gold mine in the bank and sell things cheaper than we would otherwise,” Lynch says.

“We’re just trying to build on it and building on it is building more people, not putting the price up. More people at a lower price is better than the same people at a higher price if you get it right. If you drop it, as we have by €30, and you get enough extra people, which is doable considering the season we had, we’ll have beaten where we’ve started. We’ve gone with a strategy that is a risk because we’ve dropped the price. So if we get the same people buying season tickets this year as last year then we’ve lost a lot of money but we’re taking the risk that we’re going to get more people and that many more that it will still make more money than if we kept the price the same or increased it a little bit.”

And while it might indeed be a risk for Rovers, those sorts of risks are second nature to League of Ireland clubs as the battle against the balance sheets continues.

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/national-league/pay-for-play-value-to-be-found-in-league-of-ireland-season-tickets-1.4094573?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[marinobohs]

Shamrock Rovers director Mark Lynch on Rovers season ticket pricing initiative


https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/national-league/pay-for-play-value-to-be-found-in-league-of-ireland-season-tickets-1.4094573?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Fair dues to shams, if the league is ever to really take off it will be on the back of increased attendances and any initiative to bring crowds into grounds is to be welcomed.New fans will attend 'away' matches as well as home (so other clubs benefit) and the additional atmosphere of a decent sized crowd is often an attraction in itself. Undoubtedly there is a financial risk (they will need a big increase in take up just to maintain last years income levels) but having won the cup and with the spare capacity it probably as good a time for them to try it as any.

[sbgawa]

!00% right that bigger crowds and the atmosphere are an attraction in themselves.
The matches with Bohs this year have had such great atmospheres that they have become "events".
The sold out signs in Dalyer create the same feel around other matches (surely you can get some access to one of the other sides for 2020)

[marinobohs]

!00% right that bigger crowds and the atmosphere are an attraction in themselves.
The matches with Bohs this year have had such great atmospheres that they have become "events".
The sold out signs in Dalyer create the same feel around other matches (surely you can get some access to one of the other sides for 2020)

Don't mention the war ! Very unlikely to get any real increase in capacity this side of our return to the promised land (post Tolka). Cost of getting Connaught street side up to H&S acceptable levels (especially including access) is way beyond what DCC or Bohs would even contemplate, we are talking serious structural stuff. Unfortunate given our healthy numbers last season (and expected increases in number of members and season tickets next season) that we wont be able to push on a bit. Hopefully the opportunity will be there on our return to Dalymount.

[David BOHie]

Don't mention the war ! Very unlikely to get any real increase in capacity this side of our return to the promised land (post Tolka). Cost of getting Connaught street side up to H&S acceptable levels (especially including access) is way beyond what DCC or Bohs would even contemplate, we are talking serious structural stuff. Unfortunate given our healthy numbers last season (and expected increases in number of members and season tickets next season) that we wont be able to push on a bit. Hopefully the opportunity will be there on our return to Dalymount.

Hopefully DCC see the crowds and revise the plans back to 8000.

I know if we have a 6,000 seater stadium we'd be twice as well off as we are now, but we could host u21 games, women's games etc if we had 8k. The advantages of Dalyer is its proximity to the city. People might pop in after work and it opens up a new audience.

We won't take all the games off Tallaght but in an ideal world they'd be split to some degree. With 6k, they'll probably all be in Tallaght

[EatYerGreens]

Hopefully DCC see the crowds and revise the plans back to 8000.

I know if we have a 6,000 seater stadium we'd be twice as well off as we are now, but we could host u21 games, women's games etc if we had 8k. The advantages of Dalyer is its proximity to the city. People might pop in after work and it opens up a new audience.

We won't take all the games off Tallaght but in an ideal world they'd be split to some degree. With 6k, they'll probably all be in Tallaght

I agree with you on the 8,000 capacity making more sense. Particularly as the stadium designs that have bene floated preciously don't allow for further expansion in future (which is surely a major flaw in their design ?).

Where I'd disagree with you would be on splitting games U21s etc between Tallaght and Dalymount. They should really be being split where possible between Dublin and locations elsewhere, rather than just within Dublin. The south needs to stop being so ridiculously centralised on Dublin in every aspect of life.

[marinobohs]

I agree with you on the 8,000 capacity making more sense. Particularly as the stadium designs that have bene floated preciously don't allow for further expansion in future (which is surely a major flaw in their design ?).

Where I'd disagree with you would be on splitting games U21s etc between Tallaght and Dalymount. They should really be being split where possible between Dublin and locations elsewhere, rather than just within Dublin. The south needs to stop being so ridiculously centralised on Dublin in every aspect of life.

Apart from Cork, which "locations elsewhere" do you have in mind ? Dalymount a long way off but anywhere else will be decades.

[sbgawa]

Turners cross would be fine for under 21s

[vinnie]

I think the U21's should be rotated around the grounds to give everyone a chance to see them, not many fixtures would require a 6K+ stadium, didn't Sligo used to host a few a couple of years ago?

[Dalymountrower]

As should Galway host them/ women's and under 19's

[nigel-harps1954]

I don't think under-21 games should be moved around. Nonsense to be doing that. Young squad trying to blood them into senior football should be given a solid base to work from that is familiar to them. Tallaght has the best facilities in the league and rightly the home stadium for the under-21 and womens teams.

[EatYerGreens]

I don't think under-21 games should be moved around. Nonsense to be doing that. Young squad trying to blood them into senior football should be given a solid base to work from that is familiar to them. Tallaght has the best facilities in the league and rightly the home stadium for the under-21 and womens teams.

If a footballer can't play their A game unless it's in 'familiar' surroundings, then they won't be going very far in the game. The Spanish national teams seem to do pretty well without even having a home ground, and rotating their matches at all levels continuously.

If all U21s are to happen only in Tallaght - no debate - then what incentive does that provide for towns and clubs elsewhere to be ambitious about their stadia ? Things will never improve outside of Dublin if everything is concentrated in Dublin because it's where things are the best etc.

[Nesta99]

If a footballer can't play their A game unless it's in 'familiar' surroundings, then they won't be going very far in the game. The Spanish national teams seem to do pretty well without even having a home ground, and rotating their matches at all levels continuously.

If all U21s are to happen only in Tallaght - no debate - then what incentive does that provide for towns and clubs elsewhere to be ambitious about their stadia ? Things will never improve outside of Dublin if everything is concentrated in Dublin because it's where things are the best etc.

There are undoubtedly arguments for and against but I think a team should be used to playing and performing regardless of the surroundings. Ye only have to consider the recent game in Iceland for the U21s to see the sort of places ye could end up. With that in mind Oriel Park is obvously the best spot for teams to get used to!

ED Park is fine for underage and womens games and should be given the opportunity to host games, Sligo and Turners Cross too. The top level games like v Italy then of course Tallaght is the top choice. I'd even think that the Aviva should be used occasionally as rather than coping with poor facilities a young player would be more likely to be overawed by larger stadia and thats the stage they're being prepped for.

[Martinho II]

City Calling Stadium or Flancare Park used to host under 21 internationals,under 19 games and hosted the UEFA championship qualifiers this year. We got high praise from UEFA. We have everything except for cover on the other sides of the ground!

[Charlie Darwin]

If a footballer can't play their A game unless it's in 'familiar' surroundings, then they won't be going very far in the game. The Spanish national teams seem to do pretty well without even having a home ground, and rotating their matches at all levels continuously.

If all U21s are to happen only in Tallaght - no debate - then what incentive does that provide for towns and clubs elsewhere to be ambitious about their stadia ? Things will never improve outside of Dublin if everything is concentrated in Dublin because it's where things are the best etc.
If towns and clubs around the country can't play their A game unless they get U21 games then they won't be going very far in the game.

[EatYerGreens]

If towns and clubs around the country can't play their A game unless they get U21 games then they won't be going very far in the game.

Weak.

[RathfarnhamHoop]

If a footballer can't play their A game unless it's in 'familiar' surroundings, then they won't be going very far in the game. The Spanish national teams seem to do pretty well without even having a home ground, and rotating their matches at all levels continuously.

If all U21s are to happen only in Tallaght - no debate - then what incentive does that provide for towns and clubs elsewhere to be ambitious about their stadia ? Things will never improve outside of Dublin if everything is concentrated in Dublin because it's where things are the best etc.

If you're going to play games at substandard grounds on the basis that they're not in Dublin then what incentive is there for them to improve?

Last sentence doesn't makes sense, you really trying to say we shouldn't hold these events in the most suitable stadium simply because it happens to be in a city you have a grudge against? Cop on.

All the women's and u21 competitive games should be at the best available ground and just now that's Tallaght by a country mile. The lower down teams should be spread around like they currently are and the friendlies should too but until a ground can at least match Tallaght the players deserve to have their games played there.