NFL at Croke Park the perfect pitch for Government

It's turning out to be quite the weekend for American football fans in Ireland.

As if planning to consume their body weight in chicken wings, watch the Chiefs try to seal the first Super Bowl three-in-a-row (three-peat is banned) on Sunday night, then develop a mystery 24-hour bug the next morning wasn’t enough, Friday also brought the news that Dublin will host its first regular-season NFL game at Croke Park in September.

It’s a particularly welcome announcement if you cheer for six-time champions the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will face as yet unnamed opposition at the home of the GAA.

Why the Steelers? Well, Páirc Esler isn’t quite big enough but the family who own the team came from Down originally. The late Dan M Rooney was also Barack Obama’s ambassador to Ireland and a co-founder of the Ireland Funds philanthropic organisation. Pittsburgh might not hold as much appeal to modern Irish emigrants as New York, Boston or its Pennsylvanian rival Philadelphia but around 16% of the city’s residents also claim ancestry from the Emerald Isle. That’ll do.

The Steelers have been hosting 'watch parties’ in Dublin with former players over the last couple of years to build the brand. Interestingly, the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars also have marketing rights in Ireland – but the much-maligned Jags, whose owner Shahid Khan also owns Fulham FC – play in London almost every year already and the Jets will appear at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2025.

The NFL were keen to emphasise today that they are coming to Dublin "in partnership" with the Irish government. What does partnership mean? €10 million in public money, more or less, to cover what the Government called "a range of costs, including the license fee, security, transport, city activation, and venue arrangements."

NFL executive Peter O'Reilly told RTÉ Sport: "It's a win-win. The league is investing significantly in this event. There are opportunities both in economic impact and long-term impact and visibility. Our commitment is deep to growing our game around the world and we do that with the right partners."

While the expected full house at Croke Park should generate around €5m, that will be used to compensate the Steelers for the loss of a home gate and the government reckon the NFL will spend at least €15m on top of their contribution to stage the game outside the US.

But yes, we are paying the world’s richest professional sports league (their 2023 central revenue of $13 billion was almost double that of England’s Premier League) to help the global promotion of their product, which while growing in popularity here is still comparatively niche.

By contrast, Eddie Hearn has found little enthusiasm for his pleas to the state to subsidise the costs of security for a Katie Taylor fight at Croker. Even though that is something which would resonate much more with the Irish people, it’s hard to sell the argument that a profit-making professional sports event deserves tax-payers' money.

Meanwhile, the FAI are still waiting to hear whether their plans to improve second-rate facilities for a sport people actually play here will be supported by Government.

The NFL will host its first regular-season game in Dublin in 2025, with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on an, as yet, unknown team. Dave Kelly reports. pic.twitter.com/CYJd84wqNg — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 7, 2025

So why the enthusiasm for handing the NFL a bag of cash? The official line is that it offers "a significant opportunity for economic, sporting, and cultural engagement between Ireland and the United States" but economic is the key word here, aka tourism.

The government has had a stated policy of promoting Ireland as a destination for major sports events since last year, but while the NFL is undoubtedly high-profile, it is not, as Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna curiously claimed, "without doubt the biggest sport that there is." The worldwide viewing figures for the Super Bowl are dwarfed by the finals of the soccer, rugby and cricket World Cups, as well as the European football championships. Being a co-host of Euro 2028 is more prestigious – and potentially impactful on Irish sporting fortunes - than hosting one of 272 regular-season NFL games.

But the Government has supported the successful College Classic series – the 2024 edition in August was estimated to have attracted 27,000 American tourists and generated €115m for the economy – and decided it wants more: "The event is expected to attract at least 30,000 international visitors, with strong representation from the US, UK, and Europe… the investment from the state is projected to generate approximately €64 million in additional economic activity the state, with a significant direct tax return to the exchequer."

Aviva Stadium will host its fourth college football game in as many years in August

That’s about half the estimated economic boost from this year’s game at the Aviva, which perhaps recognises that NFL fans are considered less die-hard than their college football counterparts, and so less likely to travel.

Ireland is still an attractive travel destination for Americans, who are our second-most frequent visitors and biggest spenders, so perhaps a decent Pittsburgh contingent will make the trip – for a one-off game at least. The NFL rarely sends glamour ties outside of the US, however, so the opponents are likely to be Miami, Minnesota, Indianapolis or Seattle, none of which have the same levels of Irish ancestry.

However, Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan and Fáilte Ireland believe that the expected TV audience of 20 million for the Dublin game - expect multiple rolling shots of green hills set to trad - could provide a longer-term boost to tourism. The Government are already keen to make it an annual event; the NFL seem more content to see how dipping a toe into the relatively small market here goes.

Having been to a couple of the international series games in London, my impression was that the crowds mostly comprised supporters - of all 32 teams - from the UK and Europe, just happy to be attending a game this side of the Atlantic. Though you would expect that they will still spend more than locally-based boxing fans.

NFL matches are great entertainment, as much show as sport, and the fact that Berlin and Madrid will also all host games for the first time this year, and Melbourne in 2026, shows how in demand they are as events. Irish fans of American football will enjoy the day out and let someone else worry whether it proves worthy of this, and perhaps further, state investment or a once-off novelty.

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