Croke Park

Croke Park
Páirc an Chrócaigh
Croker
View from the Hill in Croke Park
Map
LocationJones Road, Dublin 3, D03 P6K7, Ireland
Coordinates53°21′39″N 6°15′07″W / 53.3609°N 6.2519°W / 53.3609; -6.2519
OwnerGAA
Capacity
  • 82,300 (total)
  • 69,100 (seated)
  • 13,200 (terraced)
SurfaceSoil pitch[1]
Construction
Broke ground1880
Opened1884; 140 years ago (1884)
Renovated2004
Construction cost€266 million (2004 renovation)
ArchitectGilroy McMahon
Project managerSeamus Monahan & Partners
Structural engineerHorgan Lynch & Partners

Croke Park (Irish: Páirc an Chrócaigh, IPA: [ˈpˠaːɾʲc ə ˈxɾˠoːkəj]) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals.[2] It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Since 1891[3] the site has been used by the GAA to host Gaelic sports, including the annual All-Ireland finals in Gaelic football and hurling.

A major expansion and redevelopment of the stadium ran from 1991 to 2005, raising capacity to its current 82,300 spectators.[4] This makes Croke Park the fourth-largest stadium in Europe, and the largest not usually used for association football in Europe.

Along with other events held at the stadium include the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2003 Special Olympics, and numerous musical concerts. In 2012, Irish pop group Westlife sold out the stadium in a record-breaking time: less than 5 minutes.[5] From 2007 to 2010, Croke Park hosted home matches of the Ireland national rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland national football team, while their new Aviva Stadium was constructed. This use of Croke Park for non-Gaelic sports was controversial and required temporary changes to GAA rules. In June 2012, the stadium hosted the closing ceremony of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress during which Pope Benedict XVI gave an address over a video link.[6][7]

  1. ^ Clerkin, Malachy (4 September 2014). "No grounds for concern at Croke Park as hurling's big day looms". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference slipups was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Athletics to the first All-Ireland Final - Croke Park". crokepark.ie.
  4. ^ "Croke Park Stadium Facts and Figures". crokepark.ie. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Westlife sell out show in record breaking time and add date". Music-News.com. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  6. ^ "- 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012". iec2012.ie. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013.
  7. ^ Sinead O'Carroll (17 June 2012). "Eucharistic Congress: 80,000 pilgrims gather in Croke Park for closing Mass". TheJournal.ie.