SOCCER AND RUGBY INTERNATIONALS:A DOUBLE celebration of Irish sport is coming.
A sign of just how far this nation has come in the context of sport will be showcased over a 24-hour period in Croke Park. France and Australia are visiting GAA central. International soccer and rugby.
It is a logistical nightmare, somehow managing to exceed the mid-summer conundrum that saw the dismantling of U2's stage to ensure the country's leading sporting amphitheatre was operational.
Bottom line from professionalism in all its pomp and glory? €1.35 million goes into the GAA coffers from each game.
Let's break it down.
A crucial World Cup play-off match against France is due to kick-off at 7.45pm (or maybe 8pm, the FAI have yet to decide). Just before midnight on Saturday, November 14th the stadium will empty of its corporate hospitality and straggling football punters.
Then, like ants, a team of workers begin work off Jones' Road. It is a massive undertaking to have everything ready for the Wallabies' national anthem at approximately 2.57pm the next afternoon. Make that 12.30pm - when the gates re-open to ticket holders.
Advertising needs to be changed. Catering. Security. A new set of 76,000 supporters (Hill 16 will be all-seater for both games). Most importantly, the white lines have to be re-marked, and, of course, there's the small matter of goalposts. About nine new cameras need installing for rugby's Television Match Official.
RTÉ will be carting in a whole new crew after the first game.
Eamon Dunphy rolled out, George Hook rolled in.
Stadium director Peter McKenna will earn every cent of his wages. He helpfully took some time out of his Bank Holiday Monday to break it all down.
"We are looking at four and a half hours of daylight (to properly re-line the pitch) and 12 and half hours between the finish of one and the start of the other.
"We've got to clean the whole stadium, which means bathrooms, rubbish bins, seats and so forth. Overnight cleans are something we do on a fairly regular basis when we finish with GAA games on a Saturday ahead of a Sunday game. Now we are looking to do it in a far shorter time-frame."
Okay, we've established there will be people working throughout the night. A few more hundred working on site for the rugby will start to arrive at 5.30am.
"That is normal. They will find the place pristine."
Other problems become evident earlier in the week. For starters, there will be no traditional "captain's run" for Rocky Elsom and Brian O'Driscoll (presuming he retains the captaincy).
"The Irish and Australian rugby teams are in training on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we will have rugby posts up and turn it back into a soccer pitch by Thursday for the French and Irish teams.
"The more stress is put on the system the more likely something will crack. That's why you need all parties working together. There has been accommodating on both sides. Today we had a very courteous meeting with the FAI and IRFU.
"You mentioned the advertising, which is substantial, because we are turning it around throughout the stadium. There are different systems. The FAI favour the LED screens where the rugby guys stick with the scroller system. You also have the pitch markings, which are part of the rugby commitment to their sponsors."
An obvious problem is avoiding, where possible, confusing lines on the rugby pitch due to the football.
"It is not as bad as you might think. If we can persuade both sides to use the same width (70 metres) the other markings can be put down in a hot-water removable set up. This will be trialled in the next few days to make sure a downpour doesn't take it off.
"The rugby pitch is 100 metres so it is better to have rugby after soccer mainly because it is shorter."
This hasn't been done before. The Millennium stadium flipped from rugby league to rugby union, but not in 12 hours.
"We need the weather with us. Big downpours will make it intolerably hard but it is doable. We are extremely confident on that."
