HoganStand GAA Football and Hurling

National Forum

The Corona Virus And Possible Effects To GAA Matches

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post

You need to Login to Post

Seen in the Irish Examiner that the inter county championship may be played in October /November with severely restricted attendances. I think If it comes to this we would be aswell leave it to 2020 . What good would an All Ireland be with Croker only 1/3 full? Championship without the big atmosphere just wouldn't be worth it in my opinion . If things don't improve we are Aswell play club this year and show some of their live games on tv during summer . Then look forward to our inter county games in 2021. Afinestick (Wexford) - Posts: 999 - 08/04/2020 23:35:36 2275578 Link
Replying To Afinestick: "Seen in the Irish Examiner that the inter county championship may be played in October /November with severely restricted attendances. I think If it comes to this we would be aswell leave it to 2020 . What good would an All Ireland be with Croker only 1/3 full? Championship without the big atmosphere just wouldn't be worth it in my opinion . If things don't improve we are Aswell play club this year and show some of their live games on tv during summer . Then look forward to our inter county games in 2021." Yeah it's looking like that I'm afraid. I'm sure the likes or Dr Tony Holohan would shudder in disbelief and horror at the thought of 80,000 packed into Croke Park any time soon. The thing is though, without a county Championship the GAA will be down tens of millions. Does the GAA have a rainy day fund I wonder? The health of the country is obviously most important so there will be a lot of hard decisions to be made in the not too distant future. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9155 - 09/04/2020 09:19:21 2275585 Link
Took me a while, but as each days goes on the horrible realisation that there will more than likely be no championship this year gets more and more real, not to mention no holidays, and god forbid when we will enjoy the simple pleasure of going for a pint again. As has already been pointed out, until such a time as a vaccine is freely available, there will be no return to normality, and that in essence means no large gatherings. gilly1910 (Galway) - Posts: 170 - 09/04/2020 09:41:47 2275588 Link
Replying To Afinestick: "Seen in the Irish Examiner that the inter county championship may be played in October /November with severely restricted attendances. I think If it comes to this we would be aswell leave it to 2020 . What good would an All Ireland be with Croker only 1/3 full? Championship without the big atmosphere just wouldn't be worth it in my opinion . If things don't improve we are Aswell play club this year and show some of their live games on tv during summer . Then look forward to our inter county games in 2021." I agree in principle but I think the issue may be that the GAA cannot afford to miss out on the revenue, even much reduced revenue it is better than nothing. They'll have TV money out of it as well. I think they'll do everything they can to get the inter county championship played. They have huge overheads and with no money coming in it will leave them in dire straits if there is no championship. Their last set of accounts show they have nearly € 40m in cash but gate receipts and boxes account for nearly € 70m in revenue each year and they'll probably lose a lot of their €20m sponsorship even if a reduced championship goes ahead. They'd have to slash all grants, games development, cut staff and any capital projects if there are no games. They probably need to do that anyway. This virus is going to impact the GAA for years to come imo. They are going to be a long way down the list of priorities for government so they can't depend on any sort of bailout, HSE and virtually every government department and local authority are going to be bust after this so Sports organisations will be last in a very long queue with their hand out. If there is money to be had by running a championship in the Autumn and if the public health policy at the time allows it I think financially they have to do it. GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 2105 - 09/04/2020 09:44:04 2275589 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Yeah it's looking like that I'm afraid. I'm sure the likes or Dr Tony Holohan would shudder in disbelief and horror at the thought of 80,000 packed into Croke Park any time soon. The thing is though, without a county Championship the GAA will be down tens of millions. Does the GAA have a rainy day fund I wonder? The health of the country is obviously most important so there will be a lot of hard decisions to be made in the not too distant future." Looking at the accounts the rainy day fund is somewhere between € 30m - € 40m at any given time. They have expenses that they cannot cut like pensions, insurance, property maintenance, staff (to an extent). They could probably survive one year without a championship if they cut absolutely everything, lay off all the games development officers and non essential staff, all capital projects postponed indefinitely etc, but even then it would completely wipe them out. A year without a championship would be a complete and utter disaster for the GAA. GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 2105 - 09/04/2020 10:02:31 2275591 Link
Replying To GeniusGerry: "Looking at the accounts the rainy day fund is somewhere between € 30m - € 40m at any given time. They have expenses that they cannot cut like pensions, insurance, property maintenance, staff (to an extent). They could probably survive one year without a championship if they cut absolutely everything, lay off all the games development officers and non essential staff, all capital projects postponed indefinitely etc, but even then it would completely wipe them out. A year without a championship would be a complete and utter disaster for the GAA." Yeah it's a frightening scenario facing a lot of organizations. Say for example, holiday operators as well who absolutely depend on the summer season May-Oct. If they have to refund everyone whose holiday has been cancelled it is hard to see them surviving. The GAA are in a similar boat, albeit on a smaller scale. Without the cash-cow of the county championship taking place every summer as expected, alarm bells will be ringing. I'd pose a question here that a lot of people won't like. If the Championship is being played, in whatever format, but behind closed doors or in restricted capacity. Would you be willing to pay to watch the TV coverage? As in, say a tenner to watch the provincial finals? I know well that a lot of people would be up in arms about something like this. But if we all love the GAA so much, then it might take something like this for it to survive. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9155 - 09/04/2020 11:05:02 2275594 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Yeah it's a frightening scenario facing a lot of organizations. Say for example, holiday operators as well who absolutely depend on the summer season May-Oct. If they have to refund everyone whose holiday has been cancelled it is hard to see them surviving. The GAA are in a similar boat, albeit on a smaller scale. Without the cash-cow of the county championship taking place every summer as expected, alarm bells will be ringing. I'd pose a question here that a lot of people won't like. If the Championship is being played, in whatever format, but behind closed doors or in restricted capacity. Would you be willing to pay to watch the TV coverage? As in, say a tenner to watch the provincial finals? I know well that a lot of people would be up in arms about something like this. But if we all love the GAA so much, then it might take something like this for it to survive." Yep, and that is before they have to deal with every county board and provincial council coming to them cap in hand as well. It's a very very serious situation for the GAA from a financial perspective, although it pales in comparison to the overall issue facing the country. I'd have very little interest in a championship played behind closed doors between underprepared teams personally. At least Dublin can't win the championship if there isn't one :) Every cloud....... GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 2105 - 09/04/2020 11:39:45 2275598 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Yeah it's a frightening scenario facing a lot of organizations. Say for example, holiday operators as well who absolutely depend on the summer season May-Oct. If they have to refund everyone whose holiday has been cancelled it is hard to see them surviving. The GAA are in a similar boat, albeit on a smaller scale. Without the cash-cow of the county championship taking place every summer as expected, alarm bells will be ringing. I'd pose a question here that a lot of people won't like. If the Championship is being played, in whatever format, but behind closed doors or in restricted capacity. Would you be willing to pay to watch the TV coverage? As in, say a tenner to watch the provincial finals? I know well that a lot of people would be up in arms about something like this. But if we all love the GAA so much, then it might take something like this for it to survive." I was going to pose that same question when I started reading this. Everything is different under the current circumstances so people need to be prepared to look at different options. I'd pay a tenner to watch any championship game if it meant allowing them to play the games behind closed doors. It would be a hell of a weird feeling but it would generate revenue. catch22 (USA) - Posts: 2148 - 09/04/2020 12:02:42 2275601 Link
Replying To GeniusGerry: "Yep, and that is before they have to deal with every county board and provincial council coming to them cap in hand as well. It's a very very serious situation for the GAA from a financial perspective, although it pales in comparison to the overall issue facing the country. I'd have very little interest in a championship played behind closed doors between underprepared teams personally. At least Dublin can't win the championship if there isn't one :) Every cloud......." And Dublin will go another year unbeaten in the championship if there isnt one -:) Every cloud ..... superbluedub (Dublin) - Posts: 2837 - 09/04/2020 15:43:41 2275619 Link
Replying To superbluedub: "And Dublin will go another year unbeaten in the championship if there isnt one -:) Every cloud ....." Ha ha that's true too. Will be a long summer if there is no ball kicked GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 2105 - 09/04/2020 16:20:56 2275621 Link
Replying To royaldunne: "The inbetweeners is fantastic, yes it's crude yes it probably goes to far, and while made in the 2000s it would never get made these days, due to total sexism and homophobia. That been said it is just so resembling of my youth and the way guys are at that age , apparently it was based loosely on the writers lives in the 80s. Which been that age at that time I totally relate to. Above all it is hilarious" Would recommend White Gold if you enjoyed the Inbetweeners, it features Joe Thomas and James Buckley, but this time starring as two double glazing salesmen in 1980s Essex. Quite crude but some great belly laughs to be had there (whole run is on Netflix). Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 09/04/2020 17:17:44 2275622 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Yeah it's a frightening scenario facing a lot of organizations. Say for example, holiday operators as well who absolutely depend on the summer season May-Oct. If they have to refund everyone whose holiday has been cancelled it is hard to see them surviving. The GAA are in a similar boat, albeit on a smaller scale. Without the cash-cow of the county championship taking place every summer as expected, alarm bells will be ringing. I'd pose a question here that a lot of people won't like. If the Championship is being played, in whatever format, but behind closed doors or in restricted capacity. Would you be willing to pay to watch the TV coverage? As in, say a tenner to watch the provincial finals? I know well that a lot of people would be up in arms about something like this. But if we all love the GAA so much, then it might take something like this for it to survive." If its not safe enough for patrons to sit/stand within 2 meters inside a stadium, then the same should apply to the players. There should be no championship unless its safe for both patrons and players to stand side by side. The_Fonz (Westmeath) - Posts: 213 - 09/04/2020 17:28:44 2275625 Link
Replying To The_Fonz: "If its not safe enough for patrons to sit/stand within 2 meters inside a stadium, then the same should apply to the players. There should be no championship unless its safe for both patrons and players to stand side by side." Yeah I hear ya. There's just too many obstacles to contend with. We're better off forgetting about Championship 2020 I think and just concentrating all efforts on combatting the virus. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9155 - 09/04/2020 20:14:20 2275648 Link
Replying To The_Fonz: "If its not safe enough for patrons to sit/stand within 2 meters inside a stadium, then the same should apply to the players. There should be no championship unless its safe for both patrons and players to stand side by side." I would hope that is what they'd do. It'll be interesting to see which major sports organization opens up for business first. Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2129 - 09/04/2020 20:25:45 2275649 Link
Replying To The_Fonz: "If its not safe enough for patrons to sit/stand within 2 meters inside a stadium, then the same should apply to the players. There should be no championship unless its safe for both patrons and players to stand side by side." I'd agree, most big sporting events planned for this summer have been cancelled. Maybe really late in the year we may see an improvement whereby games can start back as normal. If this is the case I think clubs should get priority for once. Royalace (Meath) - Posts: 121 - 10/04/2020 06:56:37 2275670 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Yeah it's a frightening scenario facing a lot of organizations. Say for example, holiday operators as well who absolutely depend on the summer season May-Oct. If they have to refund everyone whose holiday has been cancelled it is hard to see them surviving. The GAA are in a similar boat, albeit on a smaller scale. Without the cash-cow of the county championship taking place every summer as expected, alarm bells will be ringing. I'd pose a question here that a lot of people won't like. If the Championship is being played, in whatever format, but behind closed doors or in restricted capacity. Would you be willing to pay to watch the TV coverage? As in, say a tenner to watch the provincial finals? I know well that a lot of people would be up in arms about something like this. But if we all love the GAA so much, then it might take something like this for it to survive." Those of us based abroad do it anyway, no problem for me. Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 10/04/2020 07:59:48 2275672 Link
Replying To Gleebo: "Those of us based abroad do it anyway, no problem for me." Yeah I used GAA Go for the Ulster final last year as I was in the US for work and it was great. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9155 - 10/04/2020 10:23:43 2275675 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Yeah I used GAA Go for the Ulster final last year as I was in the US for work and it was great." Would you recommend it for a whole season when all this dies down? Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2129 - 10/04/2020 14:16:00 2275702 Link
Replying To Trump2020: "Would you recommend it for a whole season when all this dies down?" Yeah it works really well and if you're living abroad and don't want to head to the pub to watch matches then GAA GO would be a great investment in my opinion. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9155 - 10/04/2020 15:57:07 2275708 Link
Covid-19 restrictions will be extended for a further three weeks until Tuesday 5 May. Will be hard to see how much sport will be played this summer KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 3512 - 10/04/2020 16:49:33 2275715 Link