Next year’s International Rules Test between Ireland and Australia could take place in New York, with future games being held in Dubai.
A three year cycle of Home, Away and Neutral venues has been discussed between the GAA and AFL and is reported as having gained momentum in principle in today’s Irish Times.
An obvious challenge would be finding a venue with the required pitch size. A GAA Pitch is between 30% and 50% bigger than a regular soccer or NFL pitch, the two stadia most likely to have enough capacity to make an overseas series addition work.
The 1947 All Ireland Football Final was played in New York at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. That facility was home to baseball, American Football and more and it’s shape and structure meant it was possible to host the match there and attract a crowd of over 50,000.
Unfortunately the ground was demolished in 1963 and is now the site of a housing project.
The Hurling 11’s played in Boston last weekend were on am American Football size pitch in a baseball stadium and that works but the full size game would require a bigger venue than is currently available.
New York GAA play their games and tournaments at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, a facility they have owned since the 1920’s and which was developed in recent years with the addition of an artificial pitch.
The capacity for games though is only around 2,000 and it would be commercially unviable to erect temporary seating for the crowds that would make a Test viable.
The Fenway Classic drew 28,000 on Sunday. The International Rules test at Croke Park a shade under 40,000.
The Irish Times report suggests that a sponsor may be found in Australia that would underwrite the cost of the game being played overseas. Up until now the cost of each team travelling every second year has been funded from the proceeds of the home game.
It will be interesting to see how this develops and whether it is in line with the GAA ambition to promote gaelic football and hurling themselves on an international stage. For now though there is no sign of an Irish Kevin Costner building his Field of Dreams join the basis that ‘they will come…’
Image credit: Inpho.ie
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