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Venues For All Ireland Final & Semis

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Replying To ponga: "Yes this year is different to any other but surely playing lots of games at this time of year in a condensed championship makes the decision to play semis and final in Croker an absolute must. The only pitch which will hold up in our Winter conditions and let players perform. On a different note.....Is it time to do away with the feckin drink breaks? Understandable when games restarted in warm weather where players were not fully fit but neither of those criteria now exist." Yeah water breaks have turned into a game with 4 quarters like American football, fellas need oilskins more than water breaks this weather. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 1076 - 11/11/2020 20:04:56 2307768 Link
Replying To ponga: "Yes this year is different to any other but surely playing lots of games at this time of year in a condensed championship makes the decision to play semis and final in Croker an absolute must. The only pitch which will hold up in our Winter conditions and let players perform. On a different note.....Is it time to do away with the feckin drink breaks? Understandable when games restarted in warm weather where players were not fully fit but neither of those criteria now exist." The drink breaks are because you cant have people running on/off like normal.... the weather is irrelevant. KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 1636 - 11/11/2020 20:14:05 2307772 Link
Replying To KillingFields: "The drink breaks are because you cant have people running on/off like normal.... the weather is irrelevant." You go out and try and play in it and then tell us it's irrelevant. Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 1076 - 11/11/2020 20:21:15 2307776 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Dublin out of Croke Park, not a chance. That would only level things up a bit. Donegal, Armagh or Connacht champions would gladly play in Breffni or Armagh." That's true, home advantage is massive, Tyrone bate away to Donegal kerry bate away to Cork. KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 11732 - 11/11/2020 20:29:43 2307778 Link
Replying To Tirchonaill1: "You go out and try and play in it and then tell us it's irrelevant." Well done on missing the point of what was said(as usual for you) Drinks breaks are here to stay in covid period. KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 1636 - 11/11/2020 21:09:26 2307795 Link
We have been told for years that Croke Park had to be used on big days because it was the the only ground that could accommodate the crowds that would want to go. This argument is now null & void and in the interests of fairness the semi finals at least should be played at a neutral venue unless both counties are happy to play in Croker. Should Donegal be lucky enough to get to Play Dublin then Breffni is the logical location. It is a lot closer to Dublin than to Donegal but we Donegal folk wouldn't quibble. As a quid pro quo Dublin might allow the grass grow for a week and we might get a rotovator in to chop up the middle a la Ballybofey. Donegal would feel right at home & it would be interesting to see how much champagne football Dublin would play on a surface like that. All in the interests of fairness of course!! MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 4985 - 11/11/2020 21:43:11 2307803 Link
Replying To SurelyToGod: "I've no doubt about that, and I don't disagree, but my assertion is that for counties on the west coast, players and management would not prefer an empty Croke Park over a neutral venue half-way between semi-finalists or finalists." I do get your point and I also see merit in your post. However when it comes down to a 5pm throw in on a dark Saturday night for an All Ireland final I still think the sense of occasion Croke Park even empty provides could be magical. Yes I think Croke Park will use the space for marketing purposes but I also would expect Croke Park to put on a sense of occasion with flags, music etc and who knows maybe even fireworks; making it the best they can without a crowd. With the best will in the world and it isn't a knock against those grounds who would want to rock up in Mullingar etc for an All Ireland final with little facilities to make it an occasion and in all likeihood have to play it on a poor pitch in late December. If players from the west qualify for an All Ireland Final I'd be very surprised if they didn't want to play in Croke Park, even with the logistical issues teams face this year. Thankfully this won't be a debate and the All Ireland finals will be played in their rightful place. sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 707 - 11/11/2020 22:05:14 2307811 Link
Replying To KingdomBoy1: "That's true, home advantage is massive, Tyrone bate away to Donegal kerry bate away to Cork." Its time the GAA started to do things a bit more fairly outside Dublin. No other team can play their home matches in Croke Park either in League or Championship. This year has shown so far that if they go back to knockout games in a normal year it has to be neutral venues all the way to Semi Final. Croke Parks not needed this year. Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 276 - 11/11/2020 22:18:39 2307815 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Its time the GAA started to do things a bit more fairly outside Dublin. No other team can play their home matches in Croke Park either in League or Championship. This year has shown so far that if they go back to knockout games in a normal year it has to be neutral venues all the way to Semi Final. Croke Parks not needed this year." No it shouldnt have to be neutral venues for all all the way to the semis. Moving dubs out of dublin should happen for maybe their leinster quarter but not other games as the demand dictates they should be played in the capital and there isnt another ground in dublin suitable. KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 1636 - 11/11/2020 23:34:36 2307838 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Oh wait, were ye not at League match?" Nope, gave it a miss. Didn't fancy driving down during a storm. Was surprised it went ahead at all in all honesty. Anyway, we were talking about championship, as you well know :) ConnollyDub (Dublin) - Posts: 1922 - 12/11/2020 09:06:52 2307857 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Its time the GAA started to do things a bit more fairly outside Dublin. No other team can play their home matches in Croke Park either in League or Championship. This year has shown so far that if they go back to knockout games in a normal year it has to be neutral venues all the way to Semi Final. Croke Parks not needed this year." 100%, in every sport home advantage is massive. KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 11732 - 12/11/2020 10:11:05 2307881 Link
I agree with the majority here, id rotate finals and semi finals around the provinces, leave Croker for our league and home championship games. Will mean less money for counties from central funds but so be it - im mad for a jaunt down to the new PUC - will be rooting for Cork in Div 2 next year. TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 3671 - 12/11/2020 10:12:04 2307882 Link
Replying To TheUsername: "I agree with the majority here, id rotate finals and semi finals around the provinces, leave Croker for our league and home championship games. Will mean less money for counties from central funds but so be it - im mad for a jaunt down to the new PUC - will be rooting for Cork in Div 2 next year." Spot on Hopefully when the times comes we might see bumper numbers in next year's championship or maybe the one after that Plenty of eager fans that want to get moving again and take full advantage of the privilege of going to watch some sport Have a feeling it'll be a bumper time for the GAA and big crowds on view jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20035 - 12/11/2020 16:04:37 2308035 Link
Replying To MuckrossHead: "We have been told for years that Croke Park had to be used on big days because it was the the only ground that could accommodate the crowds that would want to go. This argument is now null & void and in the interests of fairness the semi finals at least should be played at a neutral venue unless both counties are happy to play in Croker. Should Donegal be lucky enough to get to Play Dublin then Breffni is the logical location. It is a lot closer to Dublin than to Donegal but we Donegal folk wouldn't quibble. As a quid pro quo Dublin might allow the grass grow for a week and we might get a rotovator in to chop up the middle a la Ballybofey. Donegal would feel right at home & it would be interesting to see how much champagne football Dublin would play on a surface like that. All in the interests of fairness of course!!" *We have been told for years that Croke Park had to be used on big days because it was the the only ground that could accommodate the crowds that would want to go* That's not strictly accurate and you're putting the cart before the horse. The primary reasons that Croke Park is used are contractual. This includes: - Corporate boxes - sold on the basis of having QF / SF / AIF in Croke Park - TV contracts - facilities provision - Advertising contracts - CP has the highest availability, prominence (also tied into TV advertising prominence) With the exception of certain games involving certain teams (principally Dublin and Mayo in recent years), there are other available grounds that would meet attendance requirements. It appears more common that the games with lower crowds expected are grouped into double headers in CP to maximise attendance when the game would already have to be hosted there for the above reasons. Also, why have a stadium like CP in place if you're not going to use it? People were up in arms about the cost of PUC when it's usage would be considered quite limited. Would failure to use CP not create a similar issue? I agree with the premise of having a venue that is fairer to all participants but that's too simplistic a view in the current age. If contractual agreements allowed use of other venues for certain games, by all means use them. If contractual agreements don't allow this, then no arguments of "fairness" or otherwise should determine venues. Kurt_Angle (Dublin) - Posts: 549 - 12/11/2020 17:19:31 2308061 Link
Replying To TheUsername: "I agree with the majority here, id rotate finals and semi finals around the provinces, leave Croker for our league and home championship games. Will mean less money for counties from central funds but so be it - im mad for a jaunt down to the new PUC - will be rooting for Cork in Div 2 next year." Why do you not use your showcase ground enough? Finals shouldnt be out of croke park. Occasionally maybe move a semi final and certainly look at moving replays if they happen but not the final. Croke Park shouldnt be more Dublins home ground than the national stadium. KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 1636 - 12/11/2020 17:54:41 2308075 Link
Replying To Kurt_Angle: "*We have been told for years that Croke Park had to be used on big days because it was the the only ground that could accommodate the crowds that would want to go* That's not strictly accurate and you're putting the cart before the horse. The primary reasons that Croke Park is used are contractual. This includes: - Corporate boxes - sold on the basis of having QF / SF / AIF in Croke Park - TV contracts - facilities provision - Advertising contracts - CP has the highest availability, prominence (also tied into TV advertising prominence) With the exception of certain games involving certain teams (principally Dublin and Mayo in recent years), there are other available grounds that would meet attendance requirements. It appears more common that the games with lower crowds expected are grouped into double headers in CP to maximise attendance when the game would already have to be hosted there for the above reasons. Also, why have a stadium like CP in place if you're not going to use it? People were up in arms about the cost of PUC when it's usage would be considered quite limited. Would failure to use CP not create a similar issue? I agree with the premise of having a venue that is fairer to all participants but that's too simplistic a view in the current age. If contractual agreements allowed use of other venues for certain games, by all means use them. If contractual agreements don't allow this, then no arguments of "fairness" or otherwise should determine venues." Well if that is the case Kurt and I'm not doubting it is well then dublin need to get their own stadium to play their league games in, then Crokepark can be kept "neutral" and solely for leinster finals allireland semifinals and allireland final quarter finals can be neutral venues for fairness KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 11732 - 12/11/2020 18:00:16 2308078 Link
The best atmosphere for a semi for years was in Limerick. Mayo v Kerry . All the scaremongering beforehand meant it wasnt even full. But it was a great game and great fun bloodyban (Limerick) - Posts: 1323 - 12/11/2020 18:13:31 2308084 Link
Replying To KillingFields: "Why do you not use your showcase ground enough? Finals shouldnt be out of croke park. Occasionally maybe move a semi final and certainly look at moving replays if they happen but not the final. Croke Park shouldnt be more Dublins home ground than the national stadium." Nah time to take the whole shabang, the far side of Leixlip, we'll tip away up here with the every second league game and home Champo game in Croker and look forward to a few road trips. Id happily tip down to Semple, The Gaelic Grounds, Clones, or go to a final in PUC, as soon as Casement is ready id love to go to a semi or a final up there - Belfast is class. Some players would still get to play in Croker if they played Dublin away or every four years in a rotation. TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 3671 - 12/11/2020 18:19:19 2308088 Link
Croke Park is our stadium. It belongs to all GAA members. It ain't Dublin's. The only advantage Dublin have is less travel and their players been able to sleep in their own beds the night before big games and finals. Dublin GAA and their fans too are saved a lot of expense in travel and accommodation in the height of summer....BUT Waking up the morning of a big game, driving or taking the train "up" to Dublin with mates....it's what it's all about. The journey and the memories. The buzz and excitement is palpable...but this situation we are all in is only temporary. We will have those days again. yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 10339 - 12/11/2020 18:26:13 2308093 Link
Replying To TheUsername: "Nah time to take the whole shabang, the far side of Leixlip, we'll tip away up here with the every second league game and home Champo game in Croker and look forward to a few road trips. Id happily tip down to Semple, The Gaelic Grounds, Clones, or go to a final in PUC, as soon as Casement is ready id love to go to a semi or a final up there - Belfast is class. Some players would still get to play in Croker if they played Dublin away or every four years in a rotation." The finals should always be played in the national stadium though, If you want road trips then the final isnt the place for it or even semi finals. It should be earlier rounds especially in the Leinster championship. It would make things more difficult for other counties as they would be far less used to playing in croke park which isnt a good thing By all means get Dublin playing outside croke park more but that shouldnt be in the games when the all ireland are being decided. KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 1636 - 12/11/2020 19:04:36 2308116 Link