Almost ten days of intensive speculation about the venue for this year’s Munster Senior and Minor Hurling Finals ended on Tuesday evening when it was announced that Pairc Uí Chaoimh would host the match, a repeat of the 2013 final featuring Limerick and Cork, on Sunday July 13th.
The news was conveyed in a brief statement from the Munster Council which stated that, following a CCC meeting, the decision had been arrived at and that the ground capacity was 32,168.
The announcement kick-started a frenzy among fans for tickets to attend the game, as Cork’s capacity is 10,000 less than the attendance at last year’s final in Limerick, and almost 17,000 less than Semple Stadium had Thurles been chosen to host the finals.
It is understood that, should Cork carry out certain certified alterations in advance of what will be the last major game at the venue before it undergoes a multi-million euro revamp, the capacity may be increased to around 37,000.
The respective counties’ ticket allocation for the game is expected to be in the region of 12,000/ 13,000. This was confirm-ed by Limerick County Board secretary Mike O’Riordan on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. O’Riordan confirmed that the Gaelic Grounds office alone sold 14,500 tickets for last year’s final and he also confirmed that it was estimated that in excess of 15,000 Limerick supporters attended the recent semi-final clash with Tipperary in Thurles.
The two County Boards are facing into a hectic three weeks as the scramble for precious tickets is set to intensify as the finals draw nearer. Mr. O’Riordan said it is doubtful that tickets for the finals will go on general sale and that Limerick’s allocation will probably be distributed through the clubs.
Cork and Limerick meet in the Munster minor hurling semi-final today Thursday at the Gaelic Grounds at 7.30pm with the winners going on to meet the winners of the Clare v Waterford semi-final, a game that will be the curtain raiser to the senior final. The county that wins tonight will be in line for an additional allocation of tickets, in the region of 500, to take into account their participation in the minor decider.