Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey gigs boost Aviva Stadium profits to €3.73m

Gordon Deegan

The company that operates the Aviva Stadium in Dublin last year enjoyed a Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey dividend as it recorded operating profits of €3.73 million.

New accounts filed by New Stadium DAC – jointly owned by the IRFU and the FAI – show that the operating profits of €3.73 million for the six months to the end of June last follow operating profits of €7 million for the prior 12 months to the end of December 2024.

On June 27th, last, 51,000 Dua Lipa fans packed into the Aviva Stadium for the ‘Levitating’ singer as the one-night gig generated a box office of €6 million, according to US trade industry journal, Pollstar.

Three days later, Lana Del Rey played to another packed house at the Aviva.

The new accounts show that it recorded the operating profits as the stadium generated €4.3 million in licence fees from the IRFU and the FAI during the first six months of 2025. This compared to €9.2 million licence fee income for the prior 12-month period.

There was €1.1 million due from shareholders at the end of June last.

The sporting entities pay the fees to New Stadium DAC for matches staged at the Aviva, which also generates income from catering contracts, while a sizeable chunk of the company’s revenues comes from naming rights for the stadium.

In 2010, Aviva bought the naming rights for a reported €40 million over 10 years – or €4 million a year – and extended the deal in 2018 to 2025.

Last year, the FAI and IRFU extended the deal with Aviva for another five years to 2030.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but it is believed that the cost is about €26 million across the five years and makes it the most valuable sports-related sponsorship in the Irish market.

The stadium company recorded a pre-tax loss of €891,000 for the six months to the end of June last, which was down on the pre-tax loss of €2.33 million for 2024.

The pre-tax loss last year takes account of hefty non-cash depreciation costs of €4.6 million.

The company pays the IRFU €750,000 each year for the rent of the stadium land and paid out €375,000 for the six-month period to the end of June last.

The number of employees employed by the stadium firm remained at 16, while staff costs also remained static at €947,000.

The accounts were signed off by the CEO of the IRFU, Kevin Potts, and the FAI chief executive, David Courell, on September 18th last.

The firm’s shareholder funds stood at €140.3 million, made up of a share premium of €58.1 million, capital contribution of €134.37 millio,n offset by accumulated losses of €52.14 million.

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