Counties set own ticket prices, say Croker chiefs
Croke Park issued no directive to county boards to raise their county final ticket prices to €20.
A meeting of county board treasurers at the beginning of the year opined that uniformity across the board, with regard to county final ticket prices, would be advisable. Correspondence from the GAA’s finance committee was sent to county board treasurers in recent weeks, ahead of county final season, reminding them of what had been discussed earlier in the year.
Laois, Leitrim, and Meath raised adult ticket prices from €15 to €20 for their county senior football finals played last Sunday.
In Leitrim, students and OAPs were asked to pay €15 at the gate, a €5 hike on 2017. The Leitrim senior decider was part of a double-header, so too were the deciders in Laois and Meath. Students and OAPs were charged €10 at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise and Páirc Tailteann in Navan.
Fearing patrons would vote with their feet if admission fees were hiked, Longford, Roscommon, and Sligo ignored the correspondence from Croke Park and kept adult tickets prices at €15.
The €15 to gain entry into Longford’s Pearse Park for a triple-header — county U20 football final, county intermediate final second replay, and senior football final replay — was far removed from the €25 being asked at the turnstiles of Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday for two hurling fixtures.
Former Offaly hurler Michael Duignan has hit out at secondary school students being charged up to €5 and €20 on county final day.
A lot of young lads from around our locality would go to a lot of games and they’ll be put off going to matches if they’re being asked for €10 and €15.
“We should be doing everything we can to encourage these lads into matches, not turning them off.”
