Cork chairperson Pat Horgan calls for returned tickets to be fairly distributed through clubs

Cork County Board chairperson Pat Horgan believes that returned tickets for Munster SHC games should be distributed among clubs, based on demand.

Following the dispersal of the county’s initial allocation for Sunday’s championship opener away to Tipperary, a quantity of tickets not taken up by Tipperary – for both stand and terrace – then went on general sale. It’s a situation that requires examination, Horgan believes.

“I suppose the first thing to acknowledge is the phenomenal following that our senior hulling team have had over the last number of years,” he said.

"They're our 16th man and of course we would have to acknowledge the times we're living in now, with the fuel crisis and all of that.

“People are really making sacrifices to follow the team and we have to acknowledge that and thank them for it.

“In fairness, the other counties are entitled to their share of the tickets but, when we have returns – particularly the stand ones – they should be redistributed back to the clubs on an allocation basis.

“Seated capacity is a problem now. If they want to put terrace tickets on general sale, fine, but there's nothing upsets people more than seeing good tickets coming back at the 11th hour, that have been returned. That really bugs people.”

Next Sunday’s clash with Limerick at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh is likely see tickets at an absolute premium – the Allianz HL final at TUS Gaelic Grounds earlier this month was similar, though the decision to pair the game with the Division 1B decider between Clare and Dublin exacerbated that.

“In fairness to the Munster Council, they recognise that as much as they possibly can,” Horgan said.

“The real pinch on tickets, out of all the four games, the real pinch on the tickets will be the home fixture, Cork v Limerick and the away fixture in Waterford.

“To be fair, I don't think there's any venue in Munster now that can really adequately satisfy the demand from the top two best-supported hurling teams in the country at the moment.

“That was seen recently and that's why there was such annoyance in Cork for the league final, when we simply couldn't get our hands on the tickets. That's what caused all the annoyance.

“The bottom line there was that the CCC made a genuine miscalculation; my problem with that was we were trying to get them to rectify it and they wouldn't rectify it or they couldn't rectify it.

“Anybody can make a miscalculation, but you should be given the opportunity to put it right.”

Horgan sees first-hand how the scramble for tickets can be difficult to manage.

“Obviously, the other game away to Waterford will see huge numbers from Cork not able to get tickets and that's down to the smaller reduced capacity of Walsh Park,” he said.

“We at county board level have been discussing the ticket situation at numerous meetings to seek agreement as to see the best way to actually deal with an impossible situation.

“Most counties have sold out their allocation of season tickets, so before you start at all, there are seven thousand seated tickets gone immediately.

“For our home fixtures, it has to be acknowledged that we have to look after premium level seat-holders and South Stand seat-holders.

“Our office staff have been working diligently to get their hands on as many tickets as possible and get them out to the clubs. The point, really, is that we are trying to deal with virtually an impossible situation, when the two biggest-followed hurling teams in the country collide.

“My sympathy is with the clubs because the clubs are struggling to look after their key volunteers and the lack of seated tickets is a huge problem.

“I just don't think there is any venue in Munster capable of dealing with those numbers and we can only do our very best."