The All-Ireland senior football and hurling finals are set to generate up to €7 million each for the organization this month, with ticket sales and concessions driving the bulk of that revenue. With the hurling final on July 19 and the football decider a week later.
Limerick, after a shock quarter-final exit last year, reclaimed the Munster Championship and then beat Clare by two points to reach Sunday’s hurling final. They face Galway, who won their fourth Leinster title before dispatching Cork in the semi-final. In football, Kerry overcame a loss to Donegal to beat three other Ulster teams and then Dublin in a controversial semi-final. Mayo, seeking their first Sam Maguire since 1951, booked their spot after wins over Monaghan, Meath, Cork and a 17-point demolition of Louth.
Ticket allocations and premium seating
According to the organization’s annual report, a total of 82,006 admissions are made available for distribution for the two finals.
Around 10,528 are premium and corporate seats.
Premium seats are sold on three-, five- or 10-year licences. Prices range from €4,400 for a three-year licence in the Davin Stand to €14,900 for a 10-year licence in the Hogan or Cusack stands, paid in three instalments.
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Such licences give holders access to every association match at Croke Park.
Croker also offers the Club House (€3,500 per year) and the 501 Club (€5,200) memberships. The Club House provides a spacious bar with seating in the Lower Davin Stand and a casual buffet. The 501 Club, located on the Premium Level of the Cusack Stand, offers a lounge and premium covered seats.
Of the remaining 71,478 admissions, 59,212 are allocated to supporters through the participating counties. Another 2,594 go to season ticket holders and 2,358 to term ticket holders. Other allocations include schools and educational bodies (1,666), sponsors (1,250), association staff and sub-committees (820), the association president and central council (800), press and media (332), camogie (140), ladies football (100), rounders and handball (212) and local residents (200).
Admission in other stands costs €100.
The two competing sides each receive around 13,000 seats, but those numbers can grow when other teams do not take up their full allocation.
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There are about 13,200 standing seats in the Nally Stand and Hill 16, available for €55 each.
On final days, the buffet is upgraded to a sit-down meal.
Not all seats are sold at face value — clubs often raffle them off for fundraising.
Revenue from tickets, food and drink
If all available admissions were sold at standard prices, the association would generate approximately €720,600 from standing tickets and €5.83 million from reserved seating, not counting premium and corporate seats. In total, it would generate up to €6.6 million in ticket sales from each final, with food and drink sales potentially pushing that figure higher.
The association estimates that All-Ireland final crowds purchase 25,000 soft drinks and bottles of water, 18,000 portions of chips, 10,000 chocolate bars and 3,500 packets of Tayto crisps from concessions and bars.
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