By Paddy Heaney
First Published April 28, 2009
So the GAA’s price-slashing scheme to attract more punters to the National League Football Finals proved to be an unmitigated disaster.
It’s no surprise. Apparently, the prospect of saving five whole euro failed to drag people out of their houses and drive a few hundred miles to either Longford or Dublin.
The Division Three and Four finals in Pearse Park were played in front of almost empty stands, while a pitiful 20,545 were in Croke Park for the Division One and Two deciders.
The idea that the GAA could attract a larger audience by reducing the price of admission from €30 to €25 underlines just how divorced Croke Park has become from the typical GAA fan.
For those who perhaps aren’t aware, the typical GAA fan is a bandwagon-jumper, an armchair critic, and a couch potato. By and large, they don’t go to that many games.
But before anyone starts tut-tutting about this apathetic bunch, they should bear in mind that the typical GAA fan represents the overwhelming majority of supporters who spill through the turnstiles in the summer.
Not convinced? Consider the attendance at your county’s Dr McKenna Cup and NFL games.
Now think about the sea of red and black on Hill 16 during 1991 and 1994. Cast your minds to the same terracing in 1993 and the huge crowd in Casement Park for the Ulster semi-final replay in 2000.
Where were all those Down, Derry, and Antrim fans at the weekend? The chances are that a significant proportion of them were sitting at home watching the games on TG4.
The fact that the GAA thought they could entice these people to Longford and Dublin by dropping the admission charge by €5 (for Derry, Down and Antrim supporters, this represents a drop of a little over £1 when the change in exchange rate is factored in) illustrates the chasm that exists between Croke Park and the common gael.
But, for the benefit of the premium seat brigade in Croke Park, I’m going to explain a few things to them today.
For starters, they should realise that the price-reduction scheme at the weekend probably failed to attract a single extra punter.
The 20,000 hardcore fans in Croke Park would have gone regardless of the price of the tickets. Indeed, they would have been there even if the GAA had increased the price by €5.
The marketing strategists in Croke Park should also pay particularly close attention to the next few paragraphs.
The typical GAA fan shudders at the prospect of paying E30, or even E25, into a League final.
The fact that it’s a double-header makes absolutely no difference. The typical GAA fan has no interest in paying to watch any county other than his own. Any dope would know that.
If a working man went to Dublin at the weekend with his wife or girlfriend, the cost of tickets would be E50. But petrol is another E20 and then there is the E3.80 for tolls and E4 for a programme. That’s nearly E80 before getting a bite to eat. Did the GAA really think that the carrot of saving a measly E5 on a ticket would get this man through the turnstiles in Dublin?
It’s high time the GAA woke up and came to understand a few home truths. The cost of admission to all GAA games have been ridiculously over-priced for a long time. And the fact that provincial councils are probably going to drop their admission charges for this year’s Championships is really just a tacit confession that prices were too expensive in the first place.
Part of the problem stems from the situation whereby the people who set the prices don’t have to pay them. County board men and provincial council officials waltz into games free of charge. Meanwhile the hardcore GAA fan has been getting fleeced for years – while the typical gael has opted to stay at home.
Television is also part of the problem. Having pocketed E15m in a lucrative television rights deal, the GAA now faces the challenge of dragging its membership off the sofa.
And let’s remember, because it’s worth repeating, the typical GAA fan is a fairweather follower.
You – yes, you, the person reading this column – are probably a prime example. You are part of the GAA, you read columns and reports, you watch matches on the television, but you only go to a few county games each year. And if those matches were on television, you probably would have stayed at home.
Therein lies the challenge for the GAA during these leaner economic times. League attendances and revenue are down this year and that trend is set to follow in the Championship unless the GAA comes up with something different. Unfortunately, marketing isn’t exactly the GAA’s specialised subject.
An essential part of marketing is knowing how to communicate with your target audience – and this is where the GAA really struggles.
There is a desperate over-reliance on press releases. This is how the GAA sought to inform the nation that it had reduced its prices for the National League finals.
But who reads newspapers every day? Were you aware that prices had been reduced? A few television and radio advertisements would have helped the GAA to broadcast this offer to the widest audience possible.
And those television and radio advertisements don’t necessarily have to cost all that much money. If local radio stations want continued free access to games, then they could be obliged to carry a few advertisements. A similar deal could be struck with RTE. Some of that E15 million could be transferred to advertising slots.
Having worked out a more effective way of promoting its games, the GAA must also decide what it wants to achieve.
If Croke Park wants to maintain revenue, then increasing ticket prices is actually a viable strategy. The supporters who make the annual pilgrimage for their county’s few Championship games will not be that bothered by a price hike.
However, if the GAA wants packed stadia, if it wants children to be introduced to the glorious culture of the Championship season, and if it wants to stop alienating the ordinary working man, then it must reconsider its prohibitive pricing structure.
Let’s not forget we’re watching amateur sportsmen. The Qualifiers would be the perfect testing ground. £10 for adults. £5 for students. £5 for senior citizens. U16s free of charge. And each week’s fixtures and ticket prices advertised on radio and television.
It’s is a sad indictment on the GAA today that the price of tickets actually puts many people off going to games.
The GAA should be affordable to all, not just the 4x4s which now constitute a worryingly large proportion of the vehicles on the M1 to Dublin.
The tradesmen and labourers who literally built the GAA clubhouses where I come from drove Ford Sierras, Vauxhall Astras and, yes – Ladas.
Sadly, it seems the officials who think that E25 represents some type of bargain have lost touch with the very man who built the Association they have been entrusted to run.
It’s no surprise. Apparently, the prospect of saving five whole euro failed to drag people out of their houses and drive a few hundred miles to either Longford or Dublin.
The Division Three and Four finals in Pearse Park were played in front of almost empty stands, while a pitiful 20,545 were in Croke Park for the Division One and Two deciders.
The idea that the GAA could attract a larger audience by reducing the price of admission from €30 to €25 underlines just how divorced Croke Park has become from the typical GAA fan.
For those who perhaps aren’t aware, the typical GAA fan is a bandwagon-jumper, an armchair critic, and a couch potato. By and large, they don’t go to that many games.
But before anyone starts tut-tutting about this apathetic bunch, they should bear in mind that the typical GAA fan represents the overwhelming majority of supporters who spill through the turnstiles in the summer.
Not convinced? Consider the attendance at your county’s Dr McKenna Cup and NFL games.
Now think about the sea of red and black on Hill 16 during 1991 and 1994. Cast your minds to the same terracing in 1993 and the huge crowd in Casement Park for the Ulster semi-final replay in 2000.
Where were all those Down, Derry, and Antrim fans at the weekend? The chances are that a significant proportion of them were sitting at home watching the games on TG4.
The fact that the GAA thought they could entice these people to Longford and Dublin by dropping the admission charge by €5 (for Derry, Down and Antrim supporters, this represents a drop of a little over £1 when the change in exchange rate is factored in) illustrates the chasm that exists between Croke Park and the common gael.
But, for the benefit of the premium seat brigade in Croke Park, I’m going to explain a few things to them today.
For starters, they should realise that the price-reduction scheme at the weekend probably failed to attract a single extra punter.
The 20,000 hardcore fans in Croke Park would have gone regardless of the price of the tickets. Indeed, they would have been there even if the GAA had increased the price by €5.
The marketing strategists in Croke Park should also pay particularly close attention to the next few paragraphs.
The typical GAA fan shudders at the prospect of paying E30, or even E25, into a League final.
The fact that it’s a double-header makes absolutely no difference. The typical GAA fan has no interest in paying to watch any county other than his own. Any dope would know that.
If a working man went to Dublin at the weekend with his wife or girlfriend, the cost of tickets would be E50. But petrol is another E20 and then there is the E3.80 for tolls and E4 for a programme. That’s nearly E80 before getting a bite to eat. Did the GAA really think that the carrot of saving a measly E5 on a ticket would get this man through the turnstiles in Dublin?
It’s high time the GAA woke up and came to understand a few home truths. The cost of admission to all GAA games have been ridiculously over-priced for a long time. And the fact that provincial councils are probably going to drop their admission charges for this year’s Championships is really just a tacit confession that prices were too expensive in the first place.
Part of the problem stems from the situation whereby the people who set the prices don’t have to pay them. County board men and provincial council officials waltz into games free of charge. Meanwhile the hardcore GAA fan has been getting fleeced for years – while the typical gael has opted to stay at home.
Television is also part of the problem. Having pocketed E15m in a lucrative television rights deal, the GAA now faces the challenge of dragging its membership off the sofa.
And let’s remember, because it’s worth repeating, the typical GAA fan is a fairweather follower.
You – yes, you, the person reading this column – are probably a prime example. You are part of the GAA, you read columns and reports, you watch matches on the television, but you only go to a few county games each year. And if those matches were on television, you probably would have stayed at home.
Therein lies the challenge for the GAA during these leaner economic times. League attendances and revenue are down this year and that trend is set to follow in the Championship unless the GAA comes up with something different. Unfortunately, marketing isn’t exactly the GAA’s specialised subject.
An essential part of marketing is knowing how to communicate with your target audience – and this is where the GAA really struggles.
There is a desperate over-reliance on press releases. This is how the GAA sought to inform the nation that it had reduced its prices for the National League finals.
But who reads newspapers every day? Were you aware that prices had been reduced? A few television and radio advertisements would have helped the GAA to broadcast this offer to the widest audience possible.
And those television and radio advertisements don’t necessarily have to cost all that much money. If local radio stations want continued free access to games, then they could be obliged to carry a few advertisements. A similar deal could be struck with RTE. Some of that E15 million could be transferred to advertising slots.
Having worked out a more effective way of promoting its games, the GAA must also decide what it wants to achieve.
If Croke Park wants to maintain revenue, then increasing ticket prices is actually a viable strategy. The supporters who make the annual pilgrimage for their county’s few Championship games will not be that bothered by a price hike.
However, if the GAA wants packed stadia, if it wants children to be introduced to the glorious culture of the Championship season, and if it wants to stop alienating the ordinary working man, then it must reconsider its prohibitive pricing structure.
Let’s not forget we’re watching amateur sportsmen. The Qualifiers would be the perfect testing ground. £10 for adults. £5 for students. £5 for senior citizens. U16s free of charge. And each week’s fixtures and ticket prices advertised on radio and television.
It’s is a sad indictment on the GAA today that the price of tickets actually puts many people off going to games.
The GAA should be affordable to all, not just the 4x4s which now constitute a worryingly large proportion of the vehicles on the M1 to Dublin.
The tradesmen and labourers who literally built the GAA clubhouses where I come from drove Ford Sierras, Vauxhall Astras and, yes – Ladas.
Sadly, it seems the officials who think that E25 represents some type of bargain have lost touch with the very man who built the Association they have been entrusted to run.
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