Farrell: Keep Croke Park open to foreign games

[Tankie]

Typical Nordie as bitter as a lemon and will share nothing with the otherside.....

Not the first time that's been used by your side of the arugment   

Your not even happy that I have no problem with the stadium being closed or the fact that I would not like the IRFU to want to play in Croker as LR is the traditional home of Rugby.

The only reason i support keeping it open is for the benifit of the GAA to make extra cash and not for the benifit of other organisations who I dont think will want to use the stadium anyway!

[Tankie]

No we should grap all the money we can, I think you should stick with your IRFU buddies tankie.

[Leo]

Typical Nordie as bitter as a lemon and will share nothing with the otherside..... 

Well I am a "nordie" and typical of most nordies that I know and talk to at games. Our view was anis that making Croke Park available for other games represents:

Good neighbourliness
good business sense
and a fantastic opportunity to showcase the GAA to a new (and international) audience.

The GAA may be poor at developing our games outside of the country and its diaspora until now but the "ownership" of an internationally known stadium hosting international sports provides a fantastic platform for such development. All that Coca Cola and other money being poured down the ill-advised Aussie Rules drain woudl work wonders for an international promotional project.Croke Park (the stadium) can open these doors.
(I do acceot that there are some "nordies" who will always be about closed doors - and minds -  but it is NOT typical).

[Maguire01]

Should the IR series be banned from Croke Park (and other GAA venues)? It's clearly not GAA.

But anyway, for those against the opening, or continuing availability of Croke Park, can you give any example of how the decision damaged/disadvantaged the GAA/Croke Park to date?
And for those who accuse people of only thinking of money, do you also criticise the GAA for using HQ for concerts and other non-GAA corporate events - all of which are purely for income generation?

My point is that it's a cheap shot to accuse people in favour of opening CP / continuing its availability, of being purely motivated by money. If the GAA was being damaged or disadvantaged by this use, i wouldn't accept the extra money as a sufficient justification. But if there's no genuine/significant disadvantage or damage to the Association, why should we turn our back on this income (or be accused of being a money grabber for not refusing it)?

[pintsofguinness]

What's the point in going back over the same arguments we went over a couple of years ago?

[Maguire01]

What's the point in going back over the same arguments we went over a couple of years ago?

You don't have to, if you don't want. If anyone does want to reply, they can.

The point is that Croke Park has now been opened, and we can discuss the impact (or lack of) on the GAA/Croke Park of it actually happening; and compare to the expectations (and even fears) from the original debate.

Oh, and some people may have changed their opinion in the meantime.

[pintsofguinness]

The point is that Croke Park has now been opened, and we can discuss the impact (or lack of) on the GAA/Croke Park of it actually happening; and compare to the expectations (and even fears) from the original debate.

#
The fears from the orginal debate were there once the FAI and IRFU got in we couldnt get rid of them and well what do you know! people want them to stay. 

[Gnevin]

The point is that Croke Park has now been opened, and we can discuss the impact (or lack of) on the GAA/Croke Park of it actually happening; and compare to the expectations (and even fears) from the original debate.

#
The fears from the orginal debate were there once the FAI and IRFU got in we couldnt get rid of them and well what do you know! people want them to stay. 

There is no compulsion on the GAA to offer this to the FAI and the IRFU in fact they haven't even asked for it . So we can close our doors and be rid of them of make use of a stadium which lies idle in February ,March, October and November .

[Maguire01]

The point is that Croke Park has now been opened, and we can discuss the impact (or lack of) on the GAA/Croke Park of it actually happening; and compare to the expectations (and even fears) from the original debate.

#
The fears from the orginal debate were there once the FAI and IRFU got in we couldnt get rid of them and well what do you know! people want them to stay. 

But why is/was that a fear? What is the implication of not 'getting rid of them'? Again, i'm just trying to understand the damage this has done/is doing to the GAA or Croke Park. If there's no negative implication, then what is the basis for the 'fear'?

[Tankie]

The point is that Croke Park has now been opened, and we can discuss the impact (or lack of) on the GAA/Croke Park of it actually happening; and compare to the expectations (and even fears) from the original debate.

#
The fears from the orginal debate were there once the FAI and IRFU got in we couldnt get rid of them and well what do you know! people want them to stay. 

You also seem to be missing the point that most people are only saying that it should be left open and then decide on a case vy case basis BUT you seem to keep missing the point that most Rugby fans cant wait to get back to LR and would rather not return to Croke Park (i assume the soccer lads feel the same as they only get 50k at their games).

We should leave it open so we dont have to go throught this shite again and we are not turning our nose up at €2m if the stadium was to be required again.

[Zulu]

The FAI and IRFU will have responsibilities to their corporate supporters in LR so I don't think they'll be very keen on playing all their biggest games in CP. And like Tankie suggests most soccer or rugby fans view LR the way we view CP so I'm sure they'll be anxious to get back playing there. We'd be fools to remove the possibility of staging other big sporting occasions in CP on a case by case basis.

[pintsofguinness]

But why is/was that a fear? What is the implication of not 'getting rid of them'? Again, i'm just trying to understand the damage this has done/is doing to the GAA or Croke Park. If there's no negative implication, then what is the basis for the 'fear'?

The implicatation of not getting rid of them is that croke park becomes some sort of national stadium. 
Croke park as far as I'm concerned is for the GAA, the GAA built it, it's the GAA's headquarters.  I reluctantly agreed to the opening of it for the time Lansdowne was being recdeveloped on the basis that people like you and tankie etc made the argument that it was only for a short time.  Now when that time is up, guess what, the same people want it to continue. 

We can talk about the money the GAA get from it in order to develop our games which is great but can someone tell me the profit the IRFU and FAI make?  Am I correct in thinking it's a lot more than they would have got if the games were in Lansdowne?
I know dozens of people who have got to Irish soccer and rugby games, and brought their kids because those games were in Croke Park, these people have never been in Lansdowne.  Having the games in Croker has meant it's a lot easier for people to get tickets to them and yous don't see the problem with this as far as a the gaa is concerned?

[Tankie]

But why is/was that a fear? What is the implication of not 'getting rid of them'? Again, i'm just trying to understand the damage this has done/is doing to the GAA or Croke Park. If there's no negative implication, then what is the basis for the 'fear'?

The implicatation of not getting rid of them is that croke park becomes some sort of national stadium. 
Croke park as far as I'm concerned is for the GAA, the GAA built it, it's the GAA's headquarters.  I reluctantly agreed to the opening of it for the time Lansdowne was being recdeveloped on the basis that people like you and tankie etc made the argument that it was only for a short time.  Now when that time is up, guess what, the same people want it to continue. 

We can talk about the money the GAA get from it in order to develop our games which is great but can someone tell me the profit the IRFU and FAI make?  Am I correct in thinking it's a lot more than they would have got if the games were in Lansdowne?
I know dozens of people who have got to Irish soccer and rugby games, and brought their kids because those games were in Croke Park, these people have never been in Lansdowne.  Having the games in Croker has meant it's a lot easier for people to get tickets to them and yous don't see the problem with this as far as a the gaa is concerned?

Well unless those kids were at the England game in 2007 i think their is no fear that they will turn to rugby unless they have an interest in the sport as all those other games have been shite.

But the view of restricting access is not view I hold as Irish kids should beable to experience all sports and events, kids minds should be opened up to all sports and they should then be allowed to decide on what they want to play. I do not agree with you 'railroading' approach to GAA and the insistance of a GAA only Irish sporting structure. The GAA shoul be confident enough put its games out there to stand up on their own.

[pintsofguinness]

But the view of restricting access is not view I hold as Irish kids should beable to experience all sports and events, kids minds should be opened up to all sports and they should then be allowed to decide on what they want to play. I do not agree with you 'railroading' approach to GAA and the insistance of a GAA only Irish sporting structure. The GAA shoul be confident enough put its games out there to stand up on their own.

I agree that all sports should be available to the kids but the GAA should hardly be helping out their competitors. 

[Tankie]

But the view of restricting access is not view I hold as Irish kids should beable to experience all sports and events, kids minds should be opened up to all sports and they should then be allowed to decide on what they want to play. I do not agree with you 'railroading' approach to GAA and the insistance of a GAA only Irish sporting structure. The GAA shoul be confident enough put its games out there to stand up on their own.

I agree that all sports should be available to the kids but the GAA should hardly be helping out their competitors. 

These 'competiters' are not some English or world super power group with the sole intention of destroying the GAA. Instead they are ordinary decent Irish people like the men and women of the GAA who are just trying to promote sport and give Irish kids a sporting outlet. these sports are just trying to better Irish Society just like the GAA