Gaelic Games Annual report for 2004: The argument for opening Croke Park to other sports on financial grounds will be rendered less compelling by the publication of the annual report for 2004.

There will be a significant decrease on the previous year's cumulative debt of 98 million, and that will further dilute the case that Rule 42 should be amended in order to exploit the stadium asset more effectively.

Croke Park's statement of accounts for 2004 is currently being audited before being included in the annual report for next April's Congress.

While official figures have yet to be released, it is clear that the burden of debt is already significantly reduced, and that Croke Park is now closer to paying for itself than at anytime in the recent past.

Central to that reduction in debt is the final Government grant of €40 million, which was paid out in full at the end of last year and represented the balance of the original £60 million which was controversially withheld this time two years ago following the collapse of the Stadium Ireland project.

The 2004 accounts will also include a figure of around €18.7 million from the resale of a large section of the 24 corporate boxes and 2,000 premium tickets in the Cusack Stand, where the 10-year holding rights expired at the end of last season. Those new deals come into effect from the All-Ireland club finals on March 17th.

There are other factors that will contribute to the reduction, including the unexpected upshot of the Hill 16 redevelopment coming in under budget - costing around 22.5 million as opposed to the 25 million originally budgeted.

While speculation that the Croke Park debt could drop to as low as 10 million is well wide of the mark, stadium director Peter McKenna revealed yesterday that the current debt would certainly drop from the ceiling of 98 million, which was taken on board as part of a 12-year business plan.

"A lot of factors come into play when assessing overall borrowings, such as interest rates and the Government grants," explained McKenna. "But we did have a very good year, and that will be shown in the actual figures once they've been signed off.

"But things such as the resale of the corporate boxes and premium seats will be broken down in different ways, and was certainly something we would have budgeted for, particularly when we were setting our gross borrowings."

Around 90 per cent of the premium ticket holders took out a renewal, with the basic cost for a 10-year renewal set at 10,000, and a five-year renewal set at 6,500. The remaining tickets were sold by going through a waiting list of around 1,800. The corporate boxes come in three sizes and 10-year leases ranged from 230,000 to €444,000.

While the cost for such tickets have risen, and the Hogan Stand seats sold for £5,500 in 1999, McKenna was in no way surprised at the take up: "We didn't see it as a significant increase, and I think the fact that we got such a healthy renewal rate supports that. The rate was very acceptable, and did vary slightly depending on exact renewal times."

McKenna also explained that the only exceptional element in the 2004 accounts was in fact the Government grant. The Hill 16 redevelopment was always part of the total borrowings of 98 million, which was set as a ceiling point. That it come in under budget was largely due to the careful financial controls laid down by Peter Quinn, who chaired the Hill 16 project committee.

Future reports are also set to show Croke Park earning an even greater percentage of income from ancillary activities, while also taking into account the first major concerts at the stadium in several years when U2 play two dates next June.

Although the figures contained in the 2004 annual report will weaken the argument for opening Croke Park on financial grounds, it won't lesson the argument that the GAA still needs the money for other developments such as improving club and county grounds, installing more all-weather facilities and floodlights, and the training of more coaches.

In a related matter, the Leinster Council yesterday released their accounts for 2004 ahead of this weekend's annual convention - and the overall picture was a little less satisfying than 2003.

Income for the year amounted to 5,942,022, and that was set against expenditure of 4,718,286, which left a surplus of 1,223,736. That was slightly down on the 2003 surplus of €1,335,966. There was only a marginal rise in team expenses and finalists grants (from 309,470 in 2003 to €311,635 in 2004) and the general fund at the end of the year dropped from 4,482,789 to 3,977,366.