THE CROKE PARK stadium naming rights won’t be up for grabs anytime soon, if ever, according to top GAA officials.
Peter McKenna, the GAA’s Stadium and Commercial Director, President Larry McCarthy and Director General Tom Ryan all poured cold water on the prospect of attaching a sponsor’s name to Croke Park, similar to the SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh deal recently struck by Cork GAA.
Responding to a query at this afternoon’s launch of the GAA’s annual report, McKenna said that he ‘couldn’t contemplate it’ happening.
“All the stands are named after people, outside the museum is the Michael Cusack statue, for the Cusack Stand, so no, I couldn’t contemplate it,” said McKenna. “You’ve seen our figures anyway, we’re doing well in a regulated environment so I don’t think we’d go in that direction.”
The company that runs Croke Park turned over €42m in 2023, returning a €19.8m ‘consolidated group profit’ with €15m ultimately distributed back to central GAA funds.
In all, Croke Park Ltd has distributed €149.5m to the GAA since 2006.
Asked about a potential naming rights deal for the jewel in the GAA’s crown, Ryan said it’s unlikely.
“We have no ambitions in that direction, we’ve had no discussions about it, and so there is nothing on the table regarding naming rights for Croke Park at the moment,” said Ryan.
Asked if the GAA’s position could change in the event of a lucrative offer coming their way, Ryan responded: “Well then we’re getting into hypothetical stuff. I think a lot of thought and a lot of soul-searching would have to go into that before we’d even contemplate it. I don’t know, Peter (McKenna), if you have any thoughts on it? I don’t want to make us hostages to fortune. I can’t see it.”
Cork man McCarthy noted that ‘there’s a number of iconic stadiums as you know around the world whose names haven’t changed. We’re certainly iconic’.
On the Páirc Uí Chaoimh controversy, with suggestions initially that the O Chaoimh family name may be dropped from the stadium’s title, McCarthy said he was satisfied with the eventual outcome.
“Very happy that the income to the county board in Cork hasn’t changed,” said McCarthy.
“There was a reaction to it and they came to a compromise at the end of the day which suited both parties obviously. From our perspective the income that is there is going to help the Cork county board. The Cork county board are happy as a consequence of that.”
Elsewhere, Tom Ryan supports ‘a more liberal attitude’ to making county grounds available for other codes and sports.
Writing in his annual report, Ryan wonders if it ‘might be time to reconsider our current restrictions regarding the use of Association property’, adding that, ‘recent months have seen permission granted for a small number of games which possibly stretch that definition and have given me pause for thought. It’s not a question of finance, or at least not a short-term income stream. We are in an era where the construction of new grounds, the refurbishment of existing ones, and even the running costs of either pose an even greater challenge. Our future lies with new models of ownership, municipal facilities and shared grounds. These could well present our best opportunities for expansion’.
