DUBLIN FANS TUNE OUT FOR SPRING SERIES AT CROKER

THIS evening, the Spring Series reverts to its original formula, with All-ireland champions in both codes on view at Croke Park.

Well, it won’t have quite the same theatre as, on that first night of the concept back in 2011, X Factor misfits Jedward were the interval act between the Dublin hurlers’ victory over Tipperary and the footballers’ defeat of Cork.

The likes of Damien Dempsey and Horslips provided a more cerebral form of entertainment to supplement the action in other instalments that year before the practice of booking musical acts was phased out.

An adult stand ticket for all four events that spring (four football games, two hurling, one camogie) stood at €45, with individual stand tickets costing €13.

A stand ticket for Dublinlimerick (hurling) and Dublinkerry (football) this evening will set you back €20, decent value but still some €4 ahead of the rate of inflation in the intervening 13 years.

A crowd of 35,028 turned out that first night. That attendance remains a Spring Series record, with an average of 28,243 over the course of the four matchdays in 2011.

The near full house crowds that were drawn for marquee League games against Tyrone at Croke Park in 2007 and ‘09 were never threatened, but it was still far more than would have seen the games had they stayed in Parnell Park.

Back then, Dublin were striving to make a breakthrough in both codes.

There are myriad factors behind Dublin’s success since, but being exposed to the venue where the biggest prizes are won on a far more regular basis was surely one of them.

There have been strong indications of late that Dublin supporters are less mobilised for these fixtures than used to be the case. The average attendance dropped by around 8,000 after the pandemic and has continued

to fall, albeit last year’s stint in Division Two had an added effect.

Attendance figures for the last four fixtures do not appear to have been issued. Requests for clarity from Croke Park and elsewhere, along with a projected attendance for this evening, ultimately proved unsuccessful.

But a conservative estimate would suggest that less than 15,000 were present for the two most recent fixtures and, if tonight’s marquee double bill can’t pull something well north of 20,000, does the concept have a future?

Of course it does.

Because, ultimately, it’s advantageous to Dublin, who can easily afford the hit on the rental fees even if the crowds drop so low that it becomes cost prohibitive relative to Parnell Park, while the GAA likes to have footfall through its primary stadium when otherwise it would be left idle for much of the period from late July through to March.

Levelling the playing field wouldn’t even get a look in.