Originally Posted by roboyle
I have to laugh at the assertion that Croke Park used 'alot of taxpayers money.' Here's a few facts:
1. The GAA got E116m of LOTTERY money for the redevelopment of Croke Park. Applications for lottery funds are open to all organisations in Ireland.
2. The Government paid the GAA E25m to use Croke Park during the hosting of the Special Olympics in 2003. Without this they would not have been able to hold the opening & closing ceremonies in the style and fashion that they did.
While no offical data is available, it is believed that this money funded approximately 40% of the redvelopment of Croke Park. The GAA began palnning and redeveloping Croke Park without any public funding.
As a comparison, the FAI and IRFU have been promised E190m of funding (roughly 66%) towards the cost of redeveloping Lansdowne Road. This money has been promised ahead of even planning premission being granted.
The GAA is doing the FAI and the IRFU a favour by allowing them to use their stadium. If the FAI was properly organised they would've ensured that Lansdowne Road was not double-booked for the dates of the play-off once the fixture for the WC qualifiers were made...