The GAA seem to be seriously considering moving the National League finals to New York in 2014.Where would they be held though? Surely Gaelic Park would be too small to accommodate a big fixture like that? Would the dimensions of a Baseball park hold a GAA pitch?Even so, would you be able to hire one during the MLB season?

Seems like a good idea to promote the game abroad besides. Hope they can find a suitable venue a generate a bit of hype at home and in the States.

roundball (Tipperary) - Posts: 2514 - 22/11/2012 19:04:25    1301676

Great idea, was at manys a first round championship match up in the Bronx. Would mean a lot to the Irish in NY, certainly better than it being played in a 2/3s empty Croke Park. I'd say the players will make an extra effort to get to the final too!

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4649 - 22/11/2012 19:30:51    1301688

if the gaa do go ahead with the idea of holding the NFL finals in New York are they going to pay for season ticket holders to fly over to the final after they have followed their beloved county in the seven group games????

bit unfair on the loyal supporters who go to all games not to get to see the final,i understnad promoting games abroad is important,just dont think be rewarding to hardcore fans...Also i bet the season ticket price wont be lowered even with this proposed change

macca999 (Fermanagh) - Posts: 1169 - 22/11/2012 20:29:43    1301727

I'd feel cheated if Mayo got to the Final and I couldn't go because of a marketing idea.

killer_88_ (Mayo) - Posts: 2040 - 22/11/2012 21:20:58    1301741

Can understand that killer.

But the League Finals have become a damp squib. Interest in the Leagues actually drops off after the final round. They have to do something to breathe a bit of life in to it. Imagine if say Donegal and Mayo were to reach the final next year and it was going to be played in New York at a ground with a decent capacity- the All Ireland Finalists meeting in a meaningful game in New York in front of a partisan crowd of Donegal and Mayo expats desperate to see some decent live action, massive hype back home, maybe a bit of coverage on the US networks and a few curious locals turned on to our game. I think it'd be brilliant- needs to done properly though, Gaelic Park is too small.

roundball (Tipperary) - Posts: 2514 - 22/11/2012 21:55:03    1301752

Great idea - If my county managed to get to the League Final in New York, I would make the effort to travel over. It would be a great weekend.

As for season ticket holders - The GAA could just mark that final as "attended" for the fans here at home.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11582 - 23/11/2012 08:59:12    1301765

Non runner and a waste of time! Who the hell would travel to the states to see a match??? get realistic folks, fans cant afford to make it to Dublin not alone to the states. Anyone who is traveling to the states is doing so solely to find work, not watch a GAA match!!!

Galway1974 (Galway) - Posts: 161 - 23/11/2012 09:16:23    1301770

Galway1974
County: Galway
Posts: 113

1301770
Non runner and a waste of time! Who the hell would travel to the states to see a match??? get realistic folks, fans cant afford to make it to Dublin not alone to the states. Anyone who is traveling to the states is doing so solely to find work,

I wouldn't agree with that. Not many from Ireland would travel but it would mean alot to the Irish communities out there. Also there are not too many travelling to the USA looking for work as the country is virtually as closed shop unless you have a company over there sponsoring you before you go. That or win the green card lottery.

Despite the recession - Irish people still do travel abroad - most flights to and from the usa into Shannon/Dublin are full.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11582 - 23/11/2012 09:52:27    1301786

I'd travel, would have no problems with heading over. Obviously for those with families etc its different. Not such a novelty to the Connacght teams, there are not many complaints from them about having to travel to London and New York for championship games.
Think it is a good way of trying to develop the games outside of Ireland.

Rosineri1 (UK) - Posts: 2099 - 23/11/2012 10:05:15    1301796

Bigger picture folks...

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/gpa-chief-farrell-calls-on-gaa-to-bring-big-games-stateside-214173.html
Farrell believes the GPA may be able to help the GAA open doors to mainstream TV coverage in the US via their connections. And a competitive game would certainly add weight to the plans to make their fundraising dinner in the US an annual event.

"In terms of helping our cause over here, if we could bring games to the US, that would be phenomenal.

"You could hang a lot of stuff off the back of that. It brings more awareness, it raises the profile. We've a couple of ideas around that.

"The GAA themselves are very keen to explore this avenue because the GAA here fulfils a very important in terms of it's an outlet for first generation Irish. We believe there is huge untapped potential outside of that.

"Can we get those individuals engaged, can we bring our games to more homes across America? It's estimated there are 40 million individuals in this country of Irish extraction so if you consider the AFL broadcast their games here when their season is on and has seven million viewers on a weekly basis.

"We don't have next to near that and the indigenous Aussies in this country doesn't compare to the Irish-American community. We believe there is a huge opportunity. Trying to get the games on mainstream TV is one aspect.

"The other aspect is possibly bringing out games and maybe moving away from trying to bring the game out and attract the crowd.

"Maybe bring the game to where there is going to be a huge crowd of Irish people for whatever reason be it a festival or perhaps there are opportunities with Notre Dame."

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 23/11/2012 10:05:18    1301797

It would mean a lot to the Irish communities out there?? It would be a stadium packed with 32 different county colored jerseys while the real cash strapped supporters who follow their team all year sit here at home and watch it on a telly! to be honest I dont even think that they would get enough support out there to fill the stadium. I know there is a lot of Irish there but that does not mean they would all gather to support two counties that many are not from.

Galway1974 (Galway) - Posts: 161 - 23/11/2012 10:05:23    1301798

Galway1974 - I am glad you are you not involved in marketing the GAA. We need to expand the organisation abroad and offer an initiative for american born boys and girl (and other countries for that matter) to get involved.

The American football guys have seen the light - bringing games to the UK and a college game to Ireland. In this global world, its all about expansion.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11582 - 23/11/2012 10:18:12    1301803

It would mean a lot to the Irish communities out there?? It would be a stadium packed with 32 different county colored jerseys while the real cash strapped supporters who follow their team all year sit here at home and watch it on a telly! to be honest I dont even think that they would get enough support out there to fill the stadium. I know there is a lot of Irish there but that does not mean they would all gather to support two counties that many are not from.
Galway1974 , 23/11/2012 at 10:05

Remind me how many went to the League Final last year. Was it 8,000??????

Culann (Dublin) - Posts: 2306 - 23/11/2012 10:23:55    1301805

Makes me laugh when people think that playing league finals in New York will lead to developing the games outside of Ireland. We already have teams from New York and London and for years its only been the connaught sides that have travelled to the games. I dont see how bringing a national final to the states will gain any extra cross seas support for our games. If the GAA wanted to make a meaningful gesture about promoting our games abroad why wouldnt they bring the biggest event of the year overseas...THE ALL IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS!!! I think the answer is simple, too much €€€€€ to loose on that horse!!

Galway1974 (Galway) - Posts: 161 - 23/11/2012 10:26:19    1301809

yew_tree
County: Mayo
Posts: 4030

1301803 Galway1974 - I am glad you are you not involved in marketing the GAA. We need to expand the organisation abroad and offer an initiative for american born boys and girl (and other countries for that matter) to get involved.

The American football guys have seen the light - bringing games to the UK and a college game to Ireland. In this global world, its all about expansion.

I agree. Mickey Harte has a lot of interesting things to say on this issue. He is against the compromise rules with the Aussies but thinks we should be developing our own games outside of Ireland instead of wasting energy on a game that is neither natural to us nor the Aussies.

Culann (Dublin) - Posts: 2306 - 23/11/2012 10:26:59    1301812

Culann - The attendance was actually Attendance: 22,827 - which is still terrible when you consider four teams were playing. Along with bringing the finals to NYC - The GAA should look at moving the finals out of Croke Park - depending on who is involved.

Lets say Dublin v Donegal final - then Croke park would be nailed on
A Mayo v Kerry final - play it in Ennis or limerick

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11582 - 23/11/2012 10:30:14    1301813

this is the most ridiculous waste of time ever if they go ahead with this,people complain about playing league final in croker in front of 20-30 thousand now what do they decide to do bring two countys all the way across to a foreign country to play the match in front of about 5 thousand people,
while again not thinking about real supporters who follow their county team all over ireland in the league then come the final they say sorry we want to play it in front of people who couldnt care less.when are we as a country going to stop pining for others to like us,thats what this is yet again we want the americans to pat us on the head and say thats a good game you got,gaa is irish sport the teams involved will be irish why bother with this waste of time of trying to promote the game abroad instead of trying to raise the league profile here would be a better option why not try and increase the crowds here these are the people who will go all the time they should invest the money into trying to fill thurles or the gaelic grounds for a league final bring it on the road in ireland if need be but dont bite the hand that feeds you.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 23/11/2012 10:35:20    1301815

Galway 1974 has a point to be fair. I am indifferent to whether the league final goes there or not. I can see the benefits of giving our games exposure and bringing in the extra revenue. However, GAA marketing is an oxymoron. There is no association anywhere that is worse. The GAA needs to do something to sort out its image here first. I am not too concerned about the fact that 8,000 are attending league finals (as Cualann pointed out), but what about the fact that 90% of championship games are played in stadiums that are over half empty (particularly in hurling). We have knock-out competitions that drag on all summer and end up with the same winner (Kilkenny in hurling) regardless of the preamble.

Yes the GAA could play a game in the USA, yes people may attend and that would be nice. They can then give themselves a pat on the back and come back and ignore the reality that every time there is a scrap in some junior B league in Cork, Cavan, Limerick etc it will be front page news (though as many events in happen in other sports without mention), forget that they are charging huge prices for average games, forget that they are fixing games for county hurlers and footballers on the same day in different parts of the country (or in the case of Leitrim this year, fixing both intercounty games on the same day, same time, same town but in different pitches). Boosting our games abroad is a nice little luxury, one that would be appreciated. They might want to sort out the half-baked job they are doing here first though rather than focus on US dollars.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 23/11/2012 10:39:19    1301817

yew_tree good point! Sounds like the GAA would rather ship a national league final overseas to a nation who dont give a dam about our sport rather than play it anywhere else in Ireland outside of headquarters. There is plenty of young boys and girls in our country who would love too dearly if the national league final was played in their own county. Why not play it in a one of our weaker counties that have struggled to reach the top and promote the game here first before we ship it overseas!!!

Galway1974 (Galway) - Posts: 161 - 23/11/2012 10:42:17    1301818

Culann - The attendance was actually Attendance: 22,827 - which is still terrible when you consider four teams were playing. Along with bringing the finals to NYC - The GAA should look at moving the finals out of Croke Park - depending on who is involved.

Lets say Dublin v Donegal final - then Croke park would be nailed on
A Mayo v Kerry final - play it in Ennis or limerick
yew_tree , 23/11/2012 at 10:30


Sorry, it was the semis that had 8,000.

Its cat that you recommend that the GAA should look at moving the League Finals depending on who is envolved. (sorry its not cat that you personnally recommend it - its cat that it has to be recommended). Every player dreams of playing in Croker but it must be very hard to play there when the place is 90% empty. Successful teams play at most 18 matches a year. I think more importance should be placed by managers and county boards on the league and subsequently supporters should get out and suport their counties. If this is not to be done, well then, what harm could be done if it was moved to New York. At least there would be a chnce of a bigger crowd attending the final and a buzz would be created over there.

Culann (Dublin) - Posts: 2306 - 23/11/2012 10:44:32    1301819