Officials last night revealed that 237,007 have attended the round-robin hurling games, which equates to a 17% jump on the 2018 figures, the first season the new system was in place.
However, the football attendances have plummeted, with a drop of 49% recorded from those through the turnstiles last year.
Munster Council bosses aren’t panicked, though, by that 11,760 loss, explaining the numbers are always down when Kerry have not played a game at home at this stage in the championship. The Kingdom’s only outing in the campaign came against Clare — in Cusack Park, Ennis — which attracted a crowd of 5,037 on June 1, with Liverpool beating Tottenham in the Champions League final that night.
Officials are predicting that the Munster SHC final between Limerick and Tipperary on Sunday week, June 30, will be a sellout at the LIT Gaelic Grounds, while this Saturday’s football showpiece meeting of Cork and Kerry is on course for a turnout of 20,000 (weather permitting).
Both games are set for live television coverage, also.
Munster Council spokesman Ed Donnelly explained: “Last year’s Munster SFC final had a crowd of 27,000, but that was chiefly due to the novelty of it being the first provincial final in the newly developed Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
But the previous Munster finals in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in recent years were attracting crowds of between 20,000 and 23,000.
He continued: “We have sold about 10,000 tickets already for the football final, as people avail of the pre-purchase offers (€25 for terrace and €35 for stand for adults, both categories will increase by €5 if bought after midnight, Friday).
“Our prices went up by a fiver last year, but it really only impacts on those people who buy their tickets on the day of the game,” Donnelly pointed out.
“The same pricing system will apply for the hurling final also and we look to be heading for a sellout on that game at the end of the month..
Cork haven’t beaten Kerry in the championship since 2012. It is their longest barren spell against their great rivals since going from 1974 to 1983 without a win.
The numbers discrepancy:
Munster Championship attendances 2019: Hurling 237,007, Football: 12,466. Overall: 249, 473.
By Colm O'Connor - Irish Examiner
