Irish Independent

Event agency Avcom announces €7.5m deal with Croke Park

- CAOIMHE GORDON

Event management firm Avcom has signed a €7.5m deal with Croke Park. The five-year partnershi­p with the venue’s meetings and events division will see the agency host and promote events and meetings at the Dublin stadium.

Avcom expects the deal to add €1.5m to its revenues this year, with revenues then expected to rise by €2m year-on-year.

There are 100 meeting rooms and eight suites located at Croke Park, which can accommodat­e live, hybrid or virtual gatherings. Additional space in the Cusack Stand is also scheduled to open in May, which will also be available for events.

As a result of the partnershi­p, Avcom can offer this location as a venue to its clients, which includes 2,500 businesses in Ireland and abroad.

Some organisati­ons which have already benefited from the partnershi­p include the GAA, PwC, Fáilte Ireland and American football team the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Avcom has an on-site team at the sporting and entertainm­ent venue, working with the Croke Park staff to host between one and seven events a day.

Around 300 events were held at the stadium last year, including conference­s, matches, concerts and exhibition­s.

The event management firm, which was founded in 1980, has partnered with Croke Park on a number of virtual and in-person events over the past nine years.

“Collaborat­ing with venues allows us to provide a diverse range of experience­s, which, we believe, reinforces our position within the industry,” Avcom’s head of business, developmen­t and marketing Olivia Breene said, pointing to other partnershi­ps recently signed by the company. These include Enterprise Ireland and Trinity College Dublin.

The agency’s managing director Paul Murphy described Croke Park as “one of Ireland’s most unique and sustainabl­e venues”.

“This partnershi­p elevates our offerings, enabling us to introduce our national and internatio­nal clients to experience the electrifyi­ng ambiance of Croke Park,” he added.

Croke Park’s head of venue business Marie Smyth said the partnershi­p represents a major milestone in the stadium’s expansion in the area of events and meetings.

Over 1.5 million visitors visit Croke Park each year.

As well as the meetings and events space, the Croke Park campus also features the GAA museum and offers tours to visitors.

There is also a skyline tour, offering visitors the opportunit­y to view the city from above.

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