Croke Park and Hurling

Clareman · 15-07-2018 10:39am #1

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 · 15-07-2018 10:46am

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.

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.

nice_guy80 · 15-07-2018 10:51am

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.

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

grbear · 15-07-2018 10:57am

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.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 12:47pm

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.

Dublin has the best motorway network in Ireland, almost every city is serviced by a motorway too and from the capital, it is by far the best for almost every fan in the country.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 12:51pm

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.

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.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 12:52pm

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

Did you see the debacle that was the Kildare Mayo scheduling? SAying there's a formula to the fixtures is a bit of a stretch.

Speakerboxx · 15-07-2018 12:54pm

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.

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.

KevIRL · 15-07-2018 12:58pm

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.

Agree 100%.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 12:59pm

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.

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.

Speakerboxx · 15-07-2018 1:00pm

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.

It would look very empty at that.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 1:22pm

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)

caddy16 · 15-07-2018 4:30pm

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)

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.

Edgware · 15-07-2018 5:13pm

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.

That wont happen. The executive boxes are bought under contract as to venues for All Ireland Finals. It has to be Croke Park

Metropolitan · 15-07-2018 5:18pm

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.

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.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 8:32pm

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.

ixus · 15-07-2018 8:41pm

Croke Park atmosphere is always crap in both codes unless 50k plus there. It sucks. Especially if there 6/7points between teams.

Few things worse than seeing empty stadia behind the goals.

They used to run all the QFinals there and atmosphere was brutal. So they've tried something else.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 8:44pm

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 · 15-07-2018 8:49pm

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.

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.

Bonniedog · 15-07-2018 9:01pm

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.

You are banging my drum!

Their marketing is pathetic. When effort is put in, as it used to be for Croke Park league games, they filled the place twice and had over 50,000 for Saturday night against Kerry.

Now, many people are unaware of when even championship games are on or where. GAA has almost no presence on media selling games.

Contrast that to IRFU who will get big crowds for even meaningless games in Pro 12 involving Irish teams.

People like something to go to, and a good game is an option and relatively cheap, but there are lots of other things people might choose to do on a weekend. They need to stop taking it for granted that crowds will just materialise out of thin air. This weekend's relatively poor crowds prove that.

caddy16 · 15-07-2018 9:04pm

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.

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.

Bonniedog · 15-07-2018 9:15pm

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.

Thurles with same facilities as CP and as alternative neutral ground to CP would make far better sense. Perfect for all big hurling games, and for many of big crowd pullers in football. PUC is just one awkward place to get to. Said before but their local bus service not even have cop on to provide service to ground on match day.

Clareman · 15-07-2018 9:35pm

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.

I'm saying that the big games shoudl be played in the big stadiums, not second best or whatever. I think there should be more matches on in Croke Park, when Croke Park isn't an option the venue should be the best suited to both counties not just because of the money that was wasted on it

Croke Park and Hurling

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