CROKE PARK REVENUE:THE IMPORTANCE to the GAA's finances of Croke Park has been illustrated in this year's accounts, covering the 12 months of 2007. Over that period the headquarters venue generated €13.5 million for the accounts of Central Council, comprised €7.5 million from the rental of the ground for rugby and soccer internationals and the annual transfer, announced last year, of €6 million.

Although Central Council's revenue is up by €14,145.937 to €64,661,255, a rise of 28 per cent, there is concern that attendances showed no improvement for the second successive year and, in fact, championship crowds were down by 70,000 in 2007.

Gate receipts did rise by nearly €4.5 million but that figure is largely made up of admission-price increases and an exceptional season in the National Football League, which saw a rise in revenue of over €1.5 million, or nearly 90 per cent.

This figure includes the opening fixture to last year's competition, Dublin-Tyrone, which saw 81,678 in attendance as the Croke Park lights were turned on and already it is clear that on figures to date, the 2008 revenues won't be as impressive as that.

On a broader issue, the revenue coming from gate receipts has fallen to 48 per cent of total, probably the lowest it's ever been, and continues the trend of recent years, which has seen an average of slightly over 70 per cent fall to 63 per cent in 2005 and 60 per cent in last year's accounts.

According to the GAA's financial director Tom Ryan, the 2006 figure is, "as a proportion about right", and the 48 per cent in the current accounts is too low.

"The problem is that healthy gate receipts and attendances are necessary to drive commercial revenues. You might be able to get by with a year or two of lower gate receipts but eventually the commercial income will follow."

Ryan believes that whereas the gate revenues are robust they are also "awfully dependent on the biggest five or six fixtures of the championship to maintain income levels".

On the expenditure side, the GAA has paid out almost its entire operating surplus of €19,754,595 in grants, leaving only €236,134 as a net surplus.

Operating grants and donations for smaller-scale projects totalled just over €1 million, but the major disbursement saw a record €18 million paid out in capital grants, including €8,836,633 to county infrastructure projects, and clubs have also benefited, according to Ryan.

"At Congress we'll be producing a club-by-club list of those 400 or so clubs that benefited from the €4,600,000 in development grants," he said.

"Investment in clubs has trebled over three years."

Meanwhile, stadium director Peter McKenna reported on an historic year that saw the first rugby and soccer internationals played in Croke Park.

"We welcomed some 2 million people to the stadium. That's 400,000 more than our record year in 2005 and some 48 per cent ahead of 2006. In total we had 26 matches, 17 finals, six international fixtures and one concert. I think it's been a very successful year," he said.

Páirc an Chrócaigh Teoranta, the stadium holding company, and its subsidiaries recorded a turnover of €44 million and profits were up by 83 per cent to €17,122,652.

Debt on the stadium fell from €37.7 million to €16.6 million - figures that largely comprise GAA grants to the stadium - and 2006 was the seventh straight year of improved profitability.

Average attendance figures for GAA matches at Croke Park were 50,367, down from 52,354 in 2006 and with 26 match days compared to 21 in the same period the previous year.