Katie Taylor: GAA say 'security costs' ruled out staging Taylor-Serrano title fight at Croke Park

Katie Taylor: Eddie Hearn on his talks with the GAA about Croke Park bout

The GAA say Matchroom's refusal to cover "security costs" were the stumbling block which prevented Katie Taylor's rematch with Amanda Serrano being staged at Croke Park on 20 May.

Undisputed world champion Taylor will face Serrano at Dublin's 3Arena after negotiations with the Gaelic Athletic Association fell through.

Croke Park's commercial director Peter McKenna said renting the stadium would not cost much more than renting Wembley.

He added that the "real issue here is about security costs".

"We would love to have the fight here," said McKenna at the release of the GAA's annual report and financial results.

"The last time we talked to them properly was before Christmas. Our rent was coming in around 400,000 euros (£355,000). I think the rent for Wembley is about £250,000 to £300,000.

"I think the surprise was that our focus on security and attention to detail was far more than they would have expected in a Wembley scenario or Bethnal Green scenario.

"You're talking about bringing 60,000 to 70,000 people into a stadium for a fight that's late in the evening with quite a bit of alcohol taken."

Taylor and Serrano made history as the first female contest to top the card at Madison Square Garden in May,

The Irish fighter won on points and it had been hoped Croke Park would stage Taylor's homecoming fight.

The lightweight title fight is dependent on Serrano beating Erika Cruz at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Puerto Rico's Serrano is favourite to defeat the Mexican in New York, a bout Taylor is set to be ringside for, and set up a rematch after their classic initial contest in May.

Promoter Eddie Hearn says it was "so frustrating" that undefeated Taylor, who could has never fought as a professional in Ireland, could not stage her homecoming bout at Croke Park.

The Aviva Stadium was also considered but the final of rugby's European Champions Cup will take place at the stadium on the same day as Taylor's bout.

"The cost of hire, the cost of everything involved with the event is three times nearly more than staging it at Wembley Stadium. It's unbelievable," Hearn said, speaking to the The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

"It's a business. Ultimately, Katie Taylor has her financial demands for this fight. So does Amanda Serrano and we want to make sure we deliver on that.

"But we're so far out on the possibility with the cost of running that show and we're out of time in terms of delivering that date to the broadcaster so we've got to move.

"I promised Katie Taylor would be in Ireland for her next fight. It will be the most sensational atmosphere wherever we are but we'll see what happens then."

Inpho

The home of gaelic games Croke Park has a capacity of 82,000

Security costs the Croke stumbling block - GAA

Croke Park's commercial director McKenna insisted that renting the stadium was "not colossally more expensive than Wembley" but added that the "real issue here is about security costs".

Referencing the crowd trouble that happened at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley in July 2021, McKenna said that this would be far less likely to happen at Croke Park because the Irish police are on-site in advance, which also comes at a higher cost.

"If you look at what happened in Wembley at the Euros, there was carnage there and and a public inquiry. Baroness Casey was scathing on the lack of stewards, the police didn't deploy until too late.

"Police don't deploy for Croke Park or the Aviva or anywhere else - they're actually here. You're not waiting for them to arrive.

"So we, and I think everyone in the event industry based in Ireland, would pride ourselves on the fact that we run very, very safe events and if that costs then that's a cost that we have to do."

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