Clareman wrote: » Most of the reports of Clare's winning tomorrow has made a point out of Clare returning to Croke Park after 5 years, that's an awful long time but looking at the fixtures this year there has only been 1 match in Croke Park, that being the Leinster final, this year there will be 4 matches in Croke Park (All Ireland & Leinster finals and the 2 semi finals). Last year there was 4 matches in Croke Park. 2016 & 15 the Dublin hurlers played their Leinster quarter finals there which meant and extra game, in 14 & 13 the AI Final replay meant an extra game. Croke Park is opened up for visiting dignitaries to be shown hurling but it's not being opened for actual hurling matches, surely there should be more matches in HQ, All Ireland Quarter finals should definitely be played there in my opinion.
Edgware wrote: » I can't help getting the impression that Croke Park just wants to get the hurling championship out of the way this year. Having the Leinster Final and Munster Final on the same day helps that impression. From a fans viewpoint the majority of which come from south of the Dublin Galway line Limerick and Thurles are convenient venues which fill easily. A 30000 crowd in those venue create an atmosphere whereas 30000 in Croke Park is lost.
grbear wrote: » I don't see any benefit in forcing the quarter finals into Croke Park. The venues for those matches should be dictated by what's best for the fans of participating counties.
nice_guy80 wrote: » the counties voted for the format - they wanted more games the counties have reps on the CCCC that formulates the calendar and fixtures can't have your cake and eat it
Speakerboxx wrote: » why do you want Quarter Final games in Croke park? the stadium would not even half fill. There would be a poor attendance at this stage of the championship not many supporters would travel. Crazy idea.
Clareman wrote: » Double header there'd be at least 30k at it, more than 40k probably, there's was only 41k in Croke Park for the Leinster football final, there was far less there for the football semi finals but it was still opened.
Clareman wrote: » By bringing Clare and Wexford supporters to Cork yesterday it was clear that there's no interest in the supporters best interest, Cork was probably the worst pitch to bring the match to yesterday. The Super 8s in football is making a thing out of every county getting to play in Croke Park, that'll be 11 football counties to play in Croke Park this year, in hurling there'll be a max of 5 teams to play there (Galway, Cork, Clare, Limerick, Kilkenny)
Clareman wrote: » With the Pope's visit the championship is completely compressed, the final is scheduled for the 19th of August, with the Pope's visit and the clubs month it's a bit of a joke really, why they couldn't postpone the hurling final till September or forget the club's month I don't know. There's a great chance that if the AI Hurling goes to a replay that it could be played in Thurles or a month after the first game.
caddy16 wrote: » Cork is the worst sh1thole in the country to get in & out of for a match but due to the millions wasted on the white elephant below supporters may as well get used to games fixed down there every year.
Clareman wrote: » Cork doesn't suit anyone, I'd say it doesn't even suit a lot of Cork people due to it's location and difficulty getting to it, it's also the third largest ground in Munster now and not that much ahead of Killarney. Limerick - 49,866 Thurles - 46,300 Cork - 45,000 Killarney - 43,180 It might be a great stadium with great facilities but I'm yet to head someone say they've had a good experience at a match down there.
Clareman wrote: » The sooner the GAA figure out they are in the entertainment business and put some effort in encouraging people in going to matches the better.
Metropolitan wrote: » Complete and utter nonsense. People would really want to calm it with this agenda against Cork hosting games. The reality is that there isn't a venue in Ireland with adequate public transport and parking - and Cork and Thurles are no exception. In terms of the arenas - Páirc Uí Chaoimh is far and away the second best facility in the country and should have hosted both Quarter Finals. The only thing it's lacking is hawkeye, which needs to be addressed by the GAA. Thurles on the other hand, is completely outdated and dilapidated stadium in need of a serious makeover. There's a bizarre resistance to change within GAA circles, whether it's officials or fans. Just because Thurles has hosted these games in the past, doesn't mean it should continue to do so. The "told you so" mob were chomping at the bit yesterday when the Páirc Uí Chaoimh attendance was announced, many claiming the same game would have drawn 30k in Thurles. I bet they're a lot quieter today seeing that Limerick and Kilkenny drew less than 20k at that venue. One thing we can all agree on is that the GAA need to be doing a hell of a lot more to encourage people to get to these games. Cork GAA's promo for yesterday's game read almost as a deterrent. "No Parking! No Buses! Park in the City Centre and Walk!" was about the gist of it. Absolutely no effort made to highlight the many clubs and businesses who were offering parking only minutes from the ground.
caddy16 wrote: » How is it nonsense. Its a disaster of a place to get in and out of, there's no comparison with Thurles. And of course its the 2nd best stadium in the country with the tens of millions of tax payers money that was spent on it when it wasn't needed. That money if anything should have been spent on Thurles.
Metropolitan wrote: » So by the same token, you'd be campaigning to move an All Ireland semi-final or final too based on Croke Park not suiting the participating counties? Lets get real here. We're not talking about league matches in February. These are All Ireland Series knock-out matches, and they should be held in our finest arenas - and whether you like it or not - Cork is the second best in the country, and it's not close. Capacity is an extremely hollow argument. When's the last time any of these stadiums were full? A (very slightly) bigger capacity stadium most certainly does not equate to a better one. There are issues I have already highlighted that need sorting - but these issues exist at all grounds in Ireland - and are no worse in Cork than at any of the grounds you have mentioned.
