There was a more relaxed feel to the publication of the GAA Annual report in Croke Park yesterday morning, aided in no small part by exceptional consolidated revenues of €138.7 million as opposed to €87 million in 2021 and well ahead even of the €118 million that was achieved in 2019.
The bulk of these came from Croke Park Stadium which generated €46.3 million in revenue from a mix of seven concerts featuring Ed Sheerman and Garth Brooks as well as 80,000 visiting the stadium as a venue for business, conferences and corporate events.
Gate receipts from the games controlled centrally came to €33.4 million with the All Ireland Championships and the Allianz Leagues driving this in a return to full capacity grounds.
Sponsorship and media fees bounced back to where they were at full contracted rates after two years where adjustments had been made for the disruption caused by Covid. We will explore this particular line item in greater depth over the coming days.
Government funding generated €21.4 million including grants to clubs and players that were referred to by Finance Director Ger Mulreaney as ‘pass-through’ funding.
The final piece of the revenue puzzle came from a contribution to the bottom line from the insurance and injury fund with a number of aged claims and set aside money being crystallised.
“The GAA is a non t for profit organisation but one that needs to survive,” said Director General Tom Ryan.
“We are community based and volunteer driven and a place where everyone contributes and everyone is valued.”
The return to financial health was evidenced in the flipping of the respective percentage of revenue coming from gate receipts (35 percent from 17 percent in 2021) and government funding (back to 21 per cent from an extraordinary 44 per cent).
The success of Croke Park as a venue, and the payback on the foresight in building big when the time was right, was clear in Stadium and Commercial Director Peter McKenna’s summary of an exceptional year.
“The loyalty of our customers has been remarkable. Our suite occupancy is at 100 percent and the level of repurchase on premium seats is 93 percent with a continual audience waiting in the wings.”
He spoke with pride of being named the first sports stadium in the world to be awarded as ‘age friendly’ and of the fact that despite the massive use in sport, concerts and as a business venue, they remained at net zero when it comes to landfill.
The GAA’s Annual Report is always about so much more than just the numbers and we will be diving deeper into some of the themes it covers over the coming days.
It helps though when the numbers are good, and even though 2022 may yet prove to be an exceptional year, it has stretched the bounds of what is possible and that can only be a good thing.
