NFL game played in Dublin last year generated €105m for Irish economy

The first regular-season NFL game to ever be played in Ireland generated an estimated €105 million for the Irish economy, according to an economic assessment.

The game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings was held in Croke Park on September 28th last year and drew an attendance of almost 75,000.

Sport Minister Patrick O’Donovan hailed the decision to invest €10 million to host the game as a “phenomenal success” and hit out at some “scathing” officials from the Department of Public Expenditure.

Speaking at a Trinity College event to announce the results of the economic impact assessment, Mr O’Donovan said: “I know that there were a lot of people that were saying in advance that this was a potential waste of money, and we shouldn’t be doing this, and there was questionable data with regard to whether or not it was going to be worth anything to the economy.

“Luckily, I think the Government made the decision here, members of the Cabinet made the decision here, and the decision has been vindicated.

“There were a lot of people, quite frankly, who were opposed to this, and they have now (been) silenced.”

He said that discussions would now be held about hosting future NFL games in 2027/28 and that “we want to place Dublin now very firmly and very squarely at the centre of NFL scheduling for future matches”.

He also praised the GAA for its collaboration on facilitating the event and said hosting the US sporting fixture offered children and adults “the opportunity to have a new sport that they might not have considered before”.

Mr O’Donovan added: “Anything that does that and … builds participation and builds activity, in my book, is worth the investment.”

Minister of State Charlie McConalogue said the match “went