CROKE PARK has been the location of many heart-stopping moments in its fabled history, but few will match the view from the rooftop corner of the Cusack Stand and Canal End.
The highlight of the Etihad Skyline tour of Croke Park is a walkway suspended over the stadium which has a drop of 44m (144 feet),the equivalent of 17 storeys.
The Skyline is what stadium director Peter McKenna calls the “OMG walk” and gives a whole new perspective on Croke Park and Dublin.
The Skyline is a first for Dublin, giving a permanent dedicated platform for panoramic views of the city. The idea originated when Croke Park installed floodlights in 2006. It is modelled on a walk along the top of the Olympic Stadium in Munich, one of the few other stadiums in Europe to have such a facility.
The Skyline cost the GAA €1.4 million to develop. This has come from the association’s own resources, with the airline Etihad providing marketing and sponsorship support.
It is hoped the walk will bring in additional revenues at a time when the GAA is feeling the pinch from declining attendances and the absence of soccer and rugby internationals at Croke Park.
The cost of the Skyline walk is €25 for an adult, which does not include a stadium or museum tour. It could be considered, to pardon the pun, a bit steep. By comparison a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower costs €14 and a basic ticket on the London Eye costs £17 (€21).
However, it is considerably cheaper than the Munich Olympic Stadium rooftop tour (€39), while the Sydney Harbour bridge walk costs a whopping Aus$208 (€160).
At Croke Park, visitors take a lift to the nosebleed seats in the seventh tier of the Hogan Stand and from there walk to the top of the stand to begin the tour. Though harnesses are provided, they are mostly superfluous as the walk platform is flush in the middle of the stand.
There are five viewing platforms from which the public can see as far as the Hill of Howth and the Sugar Loaf mountain.
The GAA believes many first-time visitors to Dublin will make the walk the initial stop on their itinerary and will use it to gather information on other places to visit.
Mr McKenna says they are expecting 25,000 visitors annually, but says this may be a conservative projection.
It is hoped to target the one million visitors who come to Dublin from overseas every year, especially those on cruise ships whose time is limited.
There are also plans to allow for both abseiling down the stands and a zip wire, so people can traverse from one stand to another on a pulley suspended on a cable.
Though planning permission at present only allows for visitors until 6pm, it is hoped the walk will be used in the future to showcase Dublin at night and to afford a clear view of the night sky.
