GAA:AT LEAST 70,000 people are expected to descend upon Croke Park this Sunday in the last fixture to be staged at the venue before a 2.8-metre barrier is erected across the Hill 16 terrace.
The first game to be played at GAA HQ with the fence in place will be the following week’s All-Ireland football semi-final between Kildare and Down.
“It’s going to be a full house or very, very close to it (on Sunday),” confirmed stadium director Peter McKenna yesterday. “We are certainly looking at 70,000-plus. Once we get over 65,000 we are on our full house set-up anyway.”
Tickets remain available on Ticketmaster.ie website and have been distributed to clubs by the Dublin and Cork County Boards.
The Nally/Dineen terrace, to give Hill 16 its official title, will include the new barrier for the second football semi-final and the two All-Ireland finals in football and hurling next month.
This decision was reached by the GAA in reaction to increasing concerns raised by incidents that occurred on the pitch involving spectators after the Leinster final between Louth and Meath on July 11th, coupled with concerns over “the departure of patrons from Croke Park” through the Hogan Stand exits in vast numbers.
Although not cited as a primary reason for the decision, McKenna stated yesterday that insurance pay-outs by Croke Park have averaged at around €100,000 per annum due to claims from people injured having invaded the playing surface post-game. This is down from an average of €300,000 in previous years.
“We’ve had numerous claims that run into multiples of five figures,” said McKenna. “We were averaging, a couple of years ago, €300,000, and now it is down to about €100,000.”
McKenna added: “I want to stress the point: it is not about amounts of money. We are not trying to lay off a problem. There is a genuine concern that we could have a serious incident and no amount of money would resolve that.”
The decision whether to retain the barriers will be reviewed after the All-Ireland football final with the introduction of legislation, prohibiting people from going on to the pitch, perhaps ensuring they are removed before the 2011 championship.
“In order to take down the barrier we would need a compelling reasons and that would mean there would need to be something telling us this is no longer necessary – whether that be legislation – and that would allow us move to the next stage,”said McKenna.
