Time for the GAA, Croke Park in particular, to get innovative !

[criostlinn]

A lot of things need to change. This mentallity of screwing the punter at any oppurtunity has to stop.

Last week I was in Tuam for the Mayo - Galway game. This was my first time there in 10 years. In 1999 i swore id never set foot in the ground again after the GAA obviously oversold about 10,000 tickets. The ground was heaving and people with tickets had to leave.

Anyway 10 years on, surely things have changed. Well last Sunday the game was delayed because of the crowd not able to get in in time. 6500 people in attendance and they couldnt get them into the ground in time. After paying €13 to get in I reached the stand. Here I was stopped by another queue. Low and behold 2 men were blocking the whole place up collecting another €2 for the privilege of getting into the stand. I wonder where this money ended up.

[T Fearon]

Lads, I don't think any additional entertainment is going to increase attendances, with all due respect Tyrone and Dublin would have sold out with or without the fireworks.

Before every big european game at Celtic Park, the saw doctors or somebody of equal calibre perform, all in the hope that it will encourage people to come early and avoid gridlock at the turnstiles just before kick off. It never works I'm afraid.

Punters are attracted to sports stadia by the sporting event and sporting event only, i'm afraid. Therefore a novelty appearance in the Leinster Hurling Final by the Dubs (or dare I say it Antrim) might well boost the attendance but not if its Dublin V Wexford or Offaly

[corn02]

Lads, I don't think any additional entertainment is going to increase attendances, with all due respect Tyrone and Dublin would have sold out with or without the fireworks.

Before every big european game at Celtic Park, the saw doctors or somebody of equal calibre perform, all in the hope that it will encourage people to come early and avoid gridlock at the turnstiles just before kick off. It never works I'm afraid.

Punters are attracted to sports stadia by the sporting event and sporting event only, i'm afraid. Therefore a novelty appearance in the Leinster Hurling Final by the Dubs (or dare I say it Antrim) might well boost the attendance but not if its Dublin V Wexford or Offaly

Spot. On.

[Hardy]

Bud - right about the hotels. Dublin is crawling with foreign tourists every Summer Sunday. I doubt if even one of them knows there's a big game in Croke Park. Cheap tickets at the hotels is a start, but I'd go further and say the GAA should be working with Bord Fáilte or whatever they call themselves now with active promotions. At the VERY LEAST, tourism ads abroad should include Croke Park and GAA footage as well as the mountains, pints of Guinness and donkeys. Guinness's brewery is the No. 1 tourist attraction in the country. Incredible but true. I'd say that's because (a) it's promoted in the tourism marketing and (b) it's something tourists associate with Ireland. See what I mean?

Also, I've been banging the drum for years about a city full of kids watching Merchandise United on the TV or playing their Nintendos while Croke Park is quarter full. How stupid is that, from an organisation whose mission is  to promote our sports. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out ways to get them into Croke Park. For one thing, don't charge them, if you know the place is not going to be full. For another, organise some attractions - freebies, give-aways, footballs, jerseys, meet the players, runabouts/games/competitions/bouncy castles on the pitch.

This is not even wheelbarrow science, never mind science of the rocket variety. Is there even a marketing department in Coke Park?

[Stall the Bailer]

Bud - right about the hotels. Dublin is crawling with foreign tourists every Summer Sunday. I doubt if even one of them knows there's a big game in Croke Park. Cheap tickets at the hotels is a start, but I'd go further and say the GAA should be working with Bord Fáilte or whatever they call themselves now with active promotions. At the VERY LEAST, tourism ads abroad should include Croke Park and GAA footage as well as the mountains, pints of Guinness and donkeys. Guinness's brewery is the No. 1 tourist attraction in the country. Incredible but true. I'd say that's because (a) it's promoted in the tourism marketing and (b) it's something tourists associate with Ireland. See what I mean?

From today's indepentent
Friday April 03 2009

TOURISM chiefs are planning to use the GAA championship to boost the struggling tourism sector.

This year is expected to be the toughest the industry has experienced since the September 11-influenced downturn in 2001, with numbers of overseas tourists expected to drop due to the global recession.

But Failte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn said it was in discussion with the GAA about using its football and hurling matches to boost both domestic and international tourism.

"It is a huge puller and it is one of the unique things we have in this country, not just for ourselves but also for overseas visitors," he said.

The Public Accounts committee heard that Failte Ireland is planning to increase its promotions of 'GAA weekends' so that homegrown fans will be tempted to extend their stay in provincial towns after championship matches.

- Michael Brennan

[Maguire01]

Maybe now that cars are down to around 20 grand the ticket you buy should give you a chance to drive home a brand new Ford Focus if the GPA will allow.

A few interesting ideas here, but the one above is a non-runner. No one is going to head to match for a 1 in 30,000 (or whatever the attendance might be) chance of winning a car. It would be a nice b onus for someone attending anyway, but isn't going to attract anyone else.

[thejuice]

Its been a long time coming but yes good to see them promoting GAA as a tourist attraction. Don't know why more hasnt been done about it years ago.

If you walked through Dublin airport everywhere its Rugby, Rugby, Rugby, Rugby as if we invented the game. Nothing about our national games. Im bringing 8 foreignors to to Meath Vs Dublin Vs Antrim in June. Most them wouldnt know a gaelic/hurling match if they saw one but they are all looking forward to it.

[Bud Wiser]

Friday April 03 2009

TOURISM chiefs are planning to use the GAA championship to boost the struggling tourism sector.

This year is expected to be the toughest the industry has experienced since the September 11-influenced downturn in 2001, with numbers of overseas tourists expected to drop due to the global recession.

But Failte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn said it was in discussion with the GAA about using its football and hurling matches to boost both domestic and international tourism.

"It is a huge puller and it is one of the unique things we have in this country, not just for ourselves but also for overseas visitors," he said.

The Public Accounts committee heard that Failte Ireland is planning to increase its promotions of 'GAA weekends' so that homegrown fans will be tempted to extend their stay in provincial towns after championship matches.

- Michael Brennan

I did not see that article or know it was written before I made the post.

Second thing.  I am not advocating by any means, or never said (listen up Mr Fearon) that punters would go to Croke Park to see a band in preference to seeing a game or that if they were not going to go they were not going to go just because a band was playing.  What I am saying is that the ones that go deserve an attraction that is additional to the game so lets say for example that Hardstaion did a half hour of his best hits and was really good and the game is a bad game then, instead of saying, "this was a rip off and the game was a joke and I won't be here again" you might have a different view - or at least you have en given a reason to say, well, they tried and it was just a bad game but overall I enjoyed the day.

Croke Park when full and two teams running out onto the sod is an experience that everyone should have.  If Croke Park should take the lead in marketing it as a venu as well as it is known for rugby.  If anyone thinks for one minute that the crowds will still come to Croke Park this year without an effort being madeto increase the attraction of the games and increase advertising and lower prices they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

[thejuice]

Maybe at half time they have a load of lads carrying over sized washing machines, cows, trees and tractors on their backs. 



Honestly whoever was behind that one needs a stern talking to.

[Zulu]

Quote
all the suggestions - good, bad or indifferent won't change that so moving it to a ground more suitable for the crowd expected is, currently as good an idea as any IMO.

With respect, if you read the last line of the starting post i asked

Quote
how do we fill those seats without moving the game out of Croke Park?

how do we fill more seats in Croke Park without moving games out of it. 

Your answer?  Move games out of it, fair enough, understood.


With respect Bud there are many things we should be doing to promote the various games but if Wexford and Kilkenny made this years Leinster final then it should be moved out of CP because that pairing wouldn't get a crowd if Elvis and Sinatra were the half time entertainment. The only issue would be, as pointed out by Indiana, that the final would be downgraded but a cake walk played out in front of 20K would do that anyway.

On the broader issue there are some good ideas but I think we need to figure out why the crowds aren't coming before we spend money on solutions. I mean even the AI finalists only have 6 or 7 games in the championship yet large numbers of supporters don't travel to every game, why is that? One of the problems is undoubtedly the 'backdoor' but this route offers supporters the chance to watch do or die football against novel oppostion and in novel settings yet it's almost impossible to get the crowds to go, why? The celtic league has grown massively in a few short years but the qualifiers has never grown like it should. Finding out why people don't go to some games is the first step in finding a solution, until we know the results of that I wouldn't be spending any money.

In the meantime the tourist and school populations should be our main target, as these can be easily tapped in the short term.

[Bud Wiser]

that pairing wouldn't get a crowd if Elvis and Sinatra were the half time entertainment. The only issue would be, as pointed out by Indiana, that the final would be downgraded but a cake walk played out in front of 20K would do that anyway.

Maybe we should get Justin Timberlake to expose Janet Jacksons right tit like he did at Super Bowl.  But we better think of something.  I agree with you Zulu, but, up to now there has not been any effort made.  Even a demonstration of coaching skills by the likes of Cody or Mickey Harte that fans could understand what effort goes in by the players, I just do not know.  I do know that if it is going to be promoted by the Failte Ireland that American Tourists will not accept a one hour match and out the door.

Basicly what I was hoping for was that each contributor to the board would put forward an idea.  If it is the Leinster Final today it will be the All-Ireland Final tomorrow.

[armaghniac]

I am suprised that they have never really done much about the tourist angle. The St Patrick's day finals are an obvious example, games in both codes and a lot of tourists around, but plenty of room in the stadium. Put a big screen in the baggage area of the airport showing classic games, this would entertain the natives while waiting for bags to appear and might catch the eye of visitors.

I suspect that not everyone knows about family tickets and that these could be promoted better. Season tickets are a good idea, but some other discount mechanism is needed for people that go to every game, these should get a discount at the QF/ SF stage, as distinct from people that appear for the first time on that day (this for spectators, people involved in GAA activity could be dealt with differently).

But there is great conservatism in the GAA, people at the core of decision making are removed from the ticket concerns of people on this board never mind the person coming along for the first time. When anything unusual is done it is derided by the "real" Gaels, the GAA 125 fireworks and washing machine carrying being good examples. If tourists get cheap tickets then the cry will go up that this is cheating the ordinary man who has to pay full price.

[Bud Wiser]

I didn't know about family tickets, well I heard about them but I do not know what the deal is and if I don't know then lots more don't know.  Apart from the fogra "will the owner of car number SAM2009KY please return to it immediately, what value is got from the surround sound system, surely Christy Moore could plug into it for half an hour and sweat like a pig for us?  Something light like an announcement saying 'ladies and gentlemen we have a srprise guest with us here today and we are delighted to introduce xyz who is going to play a few tunes etc'      Not something that is advertised to get people to go but to get people to come back.

The biggest single project that should have been undertaken was to make use of the railway line that passes at the back of Hill 16.  Wouldn't it be just grand if they had to borrow the machine that dug the tunnels from Dublin Port to Santry and make a small station here.  Unlikely now.

I see no support for the Janet Jackson idea either.

[Maguire01]

If you want to attract a new audience to the GAA, you aren't going to do it with Christy Moore.

[Hardy]

Demi Moore then.