I think the GAA could be more flexible with ticket prices in an effort to increase attendances.
For example, certain areas in Croke Park have decreased visibility (lower tier canal end corners), maybe these could be sold cheaper than a seat on the half way line?
Other options could be setting up a lastminutegaa.ie website where the day before a game tickets could be sold at a discount;
or even other of those group discount websites. The email distributions on those are pretty large.
Also why not attract tourists? Offer hotels cheap tickets for residents?
The drawback is obviously ppl sitting beside each other may have paid different prices, but sure isnt that the case on most planes we fly on? Selling tickets last minute might make ppl wait to buy tickets but maybe thats the risk...
Get bums on seats, make cash from food, drink, merchandise, etc.

If croke park are reading this and there's a job going in your marketing dept, call me!

HenryHill16 (Dublin) - Posts: 249 - 19/08/2014 09:25:16    1638676

Kids born in the late 80s early 90s were around the time of the premier league boom. This paved way for such a huge following and support from the young kids in Ireland many of whom choosing to play soccer rather than Gaelic games as a kid. The GAA need to make the youth of today more interested and more involved in Gaelic games so that kids will want to play them and to go see matches like Cork V Tipp at the weekend.

I think the best thing they can do, along with the GPA is get behind the developers of the new GAA video game. This is an era when nearly every house in Ireland has either a playstation or an Xbox. If kids have a feel for the games in the virtual environment it will give them a push to get out and try master the skills in real life

dicey12 (Dublin) - Posts: 13 - 19/08/2014 10:01:12    1638695

In fairness, if you bought a ticket for the All-Ireland semi-final through your club it was €10 each for Davon Stand. Groups of juveniles were €3 each & an adult free (with 10 juveniles). That's fantastic value in anyone's language!

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 19/08/2014 16:45:19    1638943

HenryHill16
County: Dublin
Posts: 33

Good ideas Henry. Only thing I'd say is ticket prices are very reasonable as it is. If you only go to the Hill they're great value but Kids tickets too are a bargain. 5 euro for any u16 for an AI semi is a bargain or as keeper pointed out juveniles were €3 each & an adult free (with 10 juveniles). That's serious value for money.

dicey12
County: Dublin
Posts: 13

Good point. I remember on the PS2 playing a Rugby game and it wasn't very advanced but it was very fun. Apparently there's a decent aussie rules game out so the template is there to make a fun GAA game. If you ever go to an AI hurling semi final you will see a few Dublin jackets about the place. So a few neutrals do go every year but we should be bringing the number up big time.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 19/08/2014 17:09:57    1638964

18/08/2014 17:36:37 Jack_Goff
Wow I say something positive about Rugby on here and you have your worst rant yet. No wonder your Rugby thread has resulted in you talking to yourself. Seriously you need to cop on. 8,000 posts spent mostly fighting with people on here. Some people really are strange.

You say Irish Rugby has to promote itself the way it does because the GAA is a behemoth. Why do you say that as if it's a bad thing? It's a good thing and means most Irish people support and prefer our national sports. I'd rather that than we all end up a bunch of west brits with no culture of our own. You've said plenty positive about rugby in the past. I just took umbrage with something you said yesterday.
You need to cop on your self and no it isn't 8000 posts mostly fighting with people
I neither said or implied that it was a bad thing that Irish Rugby promotes itself the way it does. You implied it was a bad thing and supporting and playing and following rugby doesn't make you a west brit

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 19/08/2014 20:47:00    1639081

18/08/2014 17:36:37 Jack_Goff
Just to make where I stand clear the GAA does not receive it's fair share of coverage from the media but judging by their lack of promtion for the big games they couldn't give a damn!

Zero promotion from the GAA and you get just short of 70k into Croke Park. The IRFU often has to put its promotion into overdrive to get 50k into the Aviva or close to it for Leinster games say. SO why the hell can't the GAA make an effort and get an extra 12k and make it a sell out. What would call a fair share of coverage for the GAA?
Leinster games in Aviva are different animals completely to All Ireland semi finals as the Leinster games in the Aviva are primarily group games in Europe are a pro12 league game.

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 19/08/2014 20:48:35    1639083

18/08/2014 17:36:37 Jack_Goff
The counties themselves bringing about 65k is great but you've a lot of tourists in Dublin and between neutrals in Dublin and the surrounding counties you could easily make iup the rest. Take my club in Meath. If they were contacted by Croke Park and invited to bring a bus full of youngsters up to croker at say 4 or 5 euro a head for the kids we'd get it done no bother.

I think Keeper says his hurling club do that so all it takes is a bit of communication and you have a great day out for young hurlers from a wide range of counties. If the games not going to sell ot you might as well make it. The last time the GAA did a similar promotion was for an aussie rules test a few years ago after the hype of it had gone and they got over 60k into it. There were tours from a ll over the country coming up for that and it made a great day for them. Not much to ask. Why don't you and your club in Meath contact the GAA instead? Why would GAA HQ even think to look to Meath?

18/08/2014 21:57:29
fabio8
just looking for the gaa to do more hill..looking to improve and expand..anything bad about that?..our sports are bigger than those sports so we should aim to be much better should we not? What do you want to be done for the GAA to do more and you have more issues if you are bigger and theyre harder to fix because you are bigger

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 19/08/2014 20:50:34    1639085

I suppose there are punters who will defo go to the game (most ppl on here), those that might, and those that won't. It's the might crowd that croker should try to bring in. An email from groupdealz or whatever on the Friday before the game might get punters in before they look out the window on Sunday, see it lashing and change their minds.
But i suppose im only looking at it from a Dublin / tourist point of view who have no hassle getting to the ground.

In Sydney for example, you buy a ticket for an AFL/NRL game and your transport is included in the match ticket (local rail, equivilant to the DART). Maybe the GAA marketing dept could link in with Iarnrod Eireann for discounts for ppl coming from the country. Maybe even in exchange for sponsorship? The Irish Rail-way Cup or whatever?

Apart from all that actually notifying the 'might go' crowd that there is a game on. GAA fixture email distribution lists etc., TV ad's after RTE news sport, flyers in hotels, Billboards on buses/trains, those annoying youtube ad's that you cant wait to skip but still work, sports websites ad's, etc.

HenryHill16 (Dublin) - Posts: 249 - 20/08/2014 11:57:33    1639241

GAA should be promoted more widely to tourists,Croke Pk is rarely full, and tickets could be sold easily at all the big hotels. Alos tourists should be encouraged to come to local club games, allow them to see the real Ireland. It baffles me that we have this unique cultural jewel, yet Bord Failte or whatever never utilize it

befair (Down) - Posts: 237 - 20/08/2014 15:27:39    1639422

Me too befair. Croke Park has no problems marketing a US colleges football game or gigs in Croke Park and why wouldn't they try to maximise revenue for them and local hotels/pubs/restaurants/ shops/ taxis etc.

Is it because of the games amateur status that they don't promote the games to tourists or to generate interest in going to games amongst non-GAA people. I guarantee you that the provincial and national rugby games will have plenty of GAA people at them in the GAA season but the rugby people will still promote the games to a wider audience.

The GAA gets some government money, maybe that makes them complacent about not marketing more to have bigger crowds at games? Maybe a bit more done on GAA marketing of games brings more revenue, the government coild then give them a bit less (our taxes) and they could give some of that money to more needy organisations.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7360 - 20/08/2014 20:24:38    1639635

wouldnt agree with offerring last minute buyers cheaper tickets
bit unfair on the people who buy their tickets well before a match would you not feel?
you shouldnt reward people who look out and decide if its going to rain today over people who are your
bread and butter.
if anything a bigger incentive should be to reduce provincial championship ticket prices for people who have attended all their countys home league matches in that code,
would be killing two birds with one stone
promoting the league more and increasing crowds at earlier rounds of the championship

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 22/08/2014 15:49:19    1640530

They are far too complacent. If they could sell out Dubs/Tyrone first round league games on a feezing Saturday night they can surely sell out quarter finals and semi finals in both games. The Aviva was nearly full to see Liverpool subs playing Shamrock rovers ffs, a team that averages 1,000 a game! Why? Because the proper marketing was done.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 22/08/2014 15:54:12    1640535

The RTE panel don't help by describing most matches as "puke" and running down 90% of teams.

Most GAA writers and Hoganstand posters are forever complaining about the rules, the referees, the championship format etc.

I got sky sports for free for 6 months and only watched 5 matches. Turned on Stoke v Southampton one evening, you's swear it was as good as EL Classico from the prematch hype.

What do we get on RTE - Pat Spillane telling 500,000 people he is not looking forward to watching the match that your after planning your day around watching. Then pointing out every bad pass and wide afterwards while ignoring the fine scores, hard shoulders, blockdowns, high fielding that we are just after watching. It puts people off.

Turn on the hurling and Ger loughnane is telling us that we have just seen the greatest Cork team ever hammer Offaly in the "greatest game of hurling I've ever seen" when it looks like a good team hammering s bad team and a lot of aimless pucking of a sloithar down a pitch.

Hogan stand posters and 75% of GAA fans area as bad, If you talk your team up and ye lose everyone turns on ye for being full of yourselves and getting to hyped up. Look at all the abuse Mayo fans get for painting a few words on a road and singing a song or two and the team loses.

Liverpool threw away the premiership last season but they were mighty all the same.

It no wonder the promotion of Gaelic Football is non existent.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1125 - 22/08/2014 17:26:43    1640609

Lack of promotion of games, could it be down too the fear of games going professional completely.
Bigger crowds at games, more money coming in and with it GPA looking for a bigger piece of the pie.
Same with bigger TV audiences more money from advertisers and with it more money coming in.
I could be wrong but wasn't it Rupert Murdoch and Sky who forced the IRBs hand in bringing in professionalism in rugby union
Where they were going to set up there own professional league.
What's to stop Sky doing the same thing in 5 too 10 years if they have big tv audiences watching it.

hound (Meath) - Posts: 234 - 22/08/2014 18:20:54    1640649

22/08/2014 18:20:54
hound
Lack of promotion of games, could it be down too the fear of games going professional completely.
Bigger crowds at games, more money coming in and with it GPA looking for a bigger piece of the pie.
Same with bigger TV audiences more money from advertisers and with it more money coming in.
I could be wrong but wasn't it Rupert Murdoch and Sky who forced the IRBs hand in bringing in professionalism in rugby union
Where they were going to set up there own professional league.
What's to stop Sky doing the same thing in 5 too 10 years if they have big tv audiences watching it. No it wasn't Murdoch and Sky who forced IRBs hand with regard to bringing in professionalism in union.
The success of the 1995 world cup was what forced the IRBs hand in relation to turning the sport pro

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 22/08/2014 18:43:01    1640662

Ormand
Like I said could be wrong.
Success of the World Cup with tv audience.
It was Austrailian media mogul Kerry Packer who had South African and New Zealand players signed up for his World Rugby Championship,
At the last minute players changed their minds and went with their home unions and Rupert Murdochs $550 million deal.
Success on tv had huge part in game turning pro, with advertising revenues.

hound (Meath) - Posts: 234 - 22/08/2014 19:40:59    1640684

22/08/2014 19:40:59 hound
Ormond Like I said could be wrong.
Success of the World Cup with tv audience.
It was Austrailian media mogul Kerry Packer who had South African and New Zealand players signed up for his World Rugby Championship,
At the last minute players changed their minds and went with their home unions and Rupert Murdochs $550 million deal.
Success on tv had huge part in game turning pro, with advertising revenues. It was the world cup that truly turned things round. IRFU/WRU/SRU were slowest in wanting change to professionalism
Kerry Packer was looking at his WRC but that was when rugby was going pro already.
TV has had huge part in the game as pro. 6nations deal keeps all major European unions as strong as they are. 6Ns is at time of year when not many other competitions are coming to conclusion and its live for 8/9 hours a week for 5 weeks and is big money for advertisers...

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 22/08/2014 21:51:17    1640733