Dublin City Council has agreed to pay €250,000 to Irish American Events Ltd (IAEL), which promotes and operates the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
This year’s Classic will take place in the city’s Aviva Stadium on August 23rd between Kansas State and Iowa State.
From 2022 until 2026 inclusive, the games have been scheduled to take place at the Aviva on the last Saturday in August.
The council said the payment “delivers on the council’s strategic objectives supporting an attractive and active city for locals and visitors supporting a vibrant local economy”.
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It is expected that 22,000 tourists from the US will arrive for the match. The council said this “will significantly benefit the local economy”.
It is the first time a Big 12 Conference match up has taken place in Ireland. The Big 12 Conference is a major collegiate athletic conference in the US, comprising 16 universities. It is known for its competitive football programmes.
The council said: “Traditional ancillary events such as pep rallies and tailgates will take place in Dublin city and a full schedule of business, academic and public events will be held in Dublin during game week each year.”
Last year’s game between Florida State and Georgia Tech added €146 million to the Irish economy, said a report from Grant Thornton, a sponsor of the event.
Of that sum, fans who came from the US spent about €135 million on travel and accommodation. Almost 48,000 people attended the game, more than 25,900 of whom travelled from the US and stayed in Ireland for an average of seven nights, the report said.
But Dublin councillor Mannix Flynn has expressed frustration with the financial contribution.
He said GAA matches in Croke Park brought many people to Dublin, but “as soon as the match is over they’re running for trains”, instead of staying in the area.
“What are we providing for Americans that we can’t provide for those using Croke Park?” he said.
He said that “Americans are very welcome, tourists are very welcome”.
“This is not only a sporting issue, it’s a political issue, it’s an issue of culture and impact,” he said.
He said the financial contribution should have been “a lot more transparent and a lot more debated”, claiming it was “an executive decision”.
The council said one of the reserved functions of its councillors was to approve the annual budget.
“This would include the overall budget for particular sections, including the events and filming unit, which funds and supports the planning and delivery for this event,” it said.
“Reports are provided to monthly council meetings and to the Economic Development and Enterprise strategic policy committee outlining the work being carried out by key sections.”
