Kingspan Breffni Park, Netwatch Cullen Park, Innovate Wexford Park. It's a growing trend in the GAA and now the unthinkable has been addressed. Could the naming rights to Croke Park really be sold?
The answer is a very definite yes, even if the timeframe is not yet certain. Speaking at HQ yesterday, the director general of the GAA, Páraic Duffy, confirmed that there was nothing off the table when it came to naming rights of the association's stadia.
Duffy was addressing the possibility that the naming rights to Páirc Uí Chaoimh may be sold to help fund the stadium's redevelopment when he spoke more broadly about all the stadia in the GAA's control, including Croke Park.
There’s nothing against stadium naming rights. We have Kingspan Breffni Park etc. So we’ve accepted the principle of it. And if Cork came to us with a proposal (for Páirc Uí Chaoimh), we’d certainly look at it. It would be up to them to come up with a proposal.
That doesn't sound particularly positive for anyone who would like to see the traditions of the GAA maintained, however, Duffy went on to say that he did not see the situation developing in the near future.
We have never had any offers on Croke Park, nor have we sought it. It has never been discussed, really. That’s for the GAA to decide. But I don’t see it as likely. I can’t talk for 50 or 100 years down the line. But in the near future I would say, no.
That quote is certainly an interesting one. It may not be 'likely' but if a big offer did come in, it does sound as if it would certainly be considered.
