Arklow Club to Open up Croke Park????

Now that the subject grabbed you.

An Arklow GAA club has put forward an amendment to GAA Rule 42 (the one which prevents foreign sports at Croker). The Amendment will be debated and voted upon at Wicklow Co. GAA convention this saturday and if successfully carried, will make it to the county's agenda to merit national debate at the national GAA convention (or so i understand, not 100% on GAA politics).

The amendment suggests leasing Croker to the government for five 'events' each year in return for compensation towards upkeep and development of Croke Park, the government would then allot these events as they saw fit (and could award them to the FAI and IRFU).

GAA president Sean Kelly wouldn't be drawn on the issue other than to say he was open to novel ideas, and described the Arklow clubs action as such.

Irish internationals at Croker may be one step closer. at least now the GAA have to debate it and weigh it up.

Vote seems to have very close in last few years so probably only a matter of time before Congress (think thats what it called) passes a motion on.

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Originally posted by Conor74
Allied to GAA President Sean Kelly's call for a reduction in the percentage required to pass a motion at Congress from 66.66% to 60% (which would have meant the passing of this motion in former votes), and the fact that he is in favour of opening up Croke Park, maybe this is looking like a real possibility...

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Last time out, the Vote would have been in favour of allowing 'foreign sports' to be played at Croker by a margin of 20 as opposed to the defeat by 1, if the 60% rule was in place.

more money from berti...... sounds possible:D

it would be better than playing in england.... the money generated from home games should be kept in ireland. if we play in england we will just be lining the pockets of british clubs (as if they need it).

it might make some in the gaa uneasy but realy for both the gaa and the fai to develop and continue its the only option.

We'd fill Croker with the French coming, no other really attractive home game though, a revenge mission against the Swiss might sell a few more tickets but no other real draws there, if it did go ahead, if Faroes and Cyprus were the first to be played ther, the novelty factor would probably get people out in greater numbers.

all speculation i know.

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Originally posted by Jon'o
more money from berti...... sounds possible:D

it would be better than playing in england.... the money generated from home games should be kept in ireland. if we play in england we will just be lining the pockets of british clubs (as if they need it).

it might make some in the gaa uneasy but realy for both the gaa and the fai to develop and continue its the only option.

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I agree. The money should stay in Ireland than go to British clubs with a long history of exploiting Irish soccer. Many people on this site have no time for the GAA, but it remains better that the money stays in the Irish economy.

The Arklow suggestion doesn't go far enough for me, but it's a start (or the thin end of the wedge as the Croke Park bunker would like to look at it). Rule 42 should be deleted. If this was discrimination against black people, the GAA would have been closed down long ago. To think that this so-called sporting organisation believes that the people who follow soccer, in their own country, are somewhat second class Irishmen and women is disgusting. GAA clubs, county boards and the executive should make their own autonomous decisions for the use of their own stadiums. When the GAA enter the 20th century, let alone the 21st, that's when the government should give them another cent.

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Originally posted by tiktok
We'd fill Croker with the French coming, no other really attractive home game though, a revenge mission against the Swiss might sell a few more tickets but no other real draws there, if it did go ahead, if Faroes and Cyprus were the first to be played ther, the novelty factor would probably get people out in greater numbers.

all speculation i know.

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You're forgetting that if we get Croker, the FAI would want to maximise its share of the profits by selling as many tickets as possible through block bookings. The tag as you rightly say is the French game, but there is also the scenario that if our final game is against the Faroes and we need the three points, this would bring in more fans than the final game against France were we well out of it.

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Originally posted by lopez
The tag as you rightly say is the French game, but there is also the scenario that if our final game is against the Faroes and we need the three points, this would bring in more fans than the final game against France were we well out of it.

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you're right, but the FAI will want to stage the home gam,e against france as l;ate as possible as it will up the television money they would receive from the french parties, especially if it was the case that we were pushing the french.