IRFU AGM 2013

[BaggyTrousers]

Rightly or wrongly fans see the IRFU as more interested in Money than in winning Rugby.

Think you are a little harsh Santa, they have undoubtedly got a fair bit wrong in the last few years, in my opinion the Aviva itself is a huge mistake, it's an awful stadium and at least 10,000 seats too small, partly resulting in them overpricing it to get the dough in.

A 70000 seater with an average price of €70 per ticket would pull in near enough €5m, instead they tried to sell €100 tickets to 50000 and lost an awful lot of goodwill.

It is the IRFU's main job to maximise revenue, after all that's what funds every bit of the game to a huge extent. They are also right to prioritise the national team, much as my pish gets boiled from time to time, they provide the lion's share of the revenue.

It is a pretty hairy shortfall in operating revenue, any significant reduction in funding to the pro teams could set us on the Welsh road. I wouldn't say I'm overly concerned with the situation, it can be managed if they stop making bad decisions.

[Setanta]

Fair enough, but a Little well-aimed criticism should help to ensure fewer mistakes and short-term Shooting from the hip.

[ColinM]

In fairness the union was in a no win situation with the stadium, they had a choice of leaving the historic location or shoehorning a too small inexpandable hole into the right location or building something fit for purpose in a new location. They took a safe option in sticking in Lansdowne, a soul-less hole in phoenix park would have been even worse.

[Jackie Brown]

Hind sight is a great thing but I do remember them being offered an old glass works site a mile to the east of Lansdowne.

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[Cap'n Grumpy]

I haven't seen any Ulster comments on this one:

A severance payment of €11.5 million did come from Puma after they prematurely pulled out of Irish rugby and a new short sponsor is imminent, said Browne.

Well it ain't me, but it could be Happy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Dopey or Doc!

[Rooster]

They should have had a terrace at the unfinished end and increased capacity that way, a few langers and drunks would also help the atmosphere

[mikerob]

I've heard it said that the IRFU have been buying up the houses at the Havelock Square end so eventually they can put up a proper stand at that end instead of the half-arsed stand there now... but don't know if there is any truth in this at all.

[striker]

Is there scope in the design of the stadium to extend the existing east stand in time?

[pwrmoore]

Is there scope in the design of the stadium to extend the existing east stand in time?

I think the joke stand is the North Stand at the Havelock road end. I believe that provision was made to allow eventual increase of the North stand in the event that the objections of the locals could be overcome.

[Neil F]

I think it's often overlooked at the current stadium sits on the extremity of the North, West and South sides of the site. The maximum capacity was always going to be around 50,000 seats - the concerns of locals merited a redesign of the stadium, not a change in net capacity. The initial plans had two large three-tier stands on the East and West of the site, with a single tier, significantly larger than the one currently at the North, at the ends. In other words, the only way the stadium can meaningfully be expanded is by expansion of the site. Even then, I am not at all convinced that the issues with the shadows of the stadium that caused the initial redesign would be overcome; a hell of a lot of houses would need to be bought up to ensure that.

I'm with Rooster, here; a big open terrace at the North end would have been a much better solution.

[TMHG]

I think there is also an issue with the DART down that end and since the stadium is shared with the soccer boys, terracing wasn't allowed.

What they should have really done was have bought out Lansdowne and turn the stadium the other way.

[Neil F]

TMHG; a road runs underneath the Amsterdam Arena and the Parc des Princes; I don't think the DART line would really be too much of an issue.

The rotation I've seen mooted by a number of people but it was a non-starter for more reasons than the maintenance of the back pitches. First, the current stadium is wider than it is long. In other words, the current stadium wouldn't fit onto the site if the pitch had been rotated 90 degrees; the East and West stands would have had to have been smaller than they currently are. Second, the shadow cast by the initially proposed one-tier, 60m wide North Stand was deemed too much; a three-tier 120m long North Stand would have been a no starter in that context. The only thing achieved by a pitch rotation would have been to turn a lame-duck end stand into a lame-duck side stand, most likely with further significant reductions on capacity.

Basically, the current set up is about as good as it could be on the current site, given the shadow-related planning considerations.

[pwrmoore]

Neil,

does your research go as far as to uncover what could be done should the IRFU be able to acquire the land the houses on Havelock road occupy?

[BR]

Basically, the current set up is about as good as it could be on the current site, given the shadow-related planning considerations.

They should have dug down instead of build ing up!

[jamsodonnell]

With regards the projected loss of 26m Euros, surrounding poor debenture sales, this loss must be seen over a period of time. I dont believe that the Puma compensation payment was factored in to Treasurer Tom Grace's figures. Like all treasurers, he gives the worst case scenario. If the Puma payment is 12M Euros, then this is a windfall, which couldn't have been expected. This must go against the 26M figure. Also, the new jersey sponsor will have to tempt the IRFU with a healthy package, which will further help service the "debt". If Munster could pay back their loan, the way Ulster have been able to, then this would help too. However, I cant help thinking that the IRFU are reaping the reaction to a catastrophic ticketing policy from the Autumn Internationals of a few years ago. Greed and speculation rather than sound logic, were the governing factors.