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Being wrong is part of this job, and some people just have a flair for it. One of my most egregious recent examples was a concern that Katie Taylor might not be able to sell out Croke Park for her farewell fight next month. In the run-up to the fight announcement, I was worried that (for example) a 55,000 strong crowd would be an incredible turnout for our most beloved boxer, but it would feel like an anticlimax in Croke Park. I just didn’t really see the difference from Katie’s point of view between fighting in the Aviva, where 55,000 people would constitute a sell-out, and fighting in Croker, where getting a full house was going to be a far tougher proposition. She was adamant that it would be Croke Park, given its unique status in Irish sport, or nowhere. Within 30 minutes of the tickets going on sale in June I had my answer, and so did Katie. I had underestimated both the significance of the venue to her and the level of her popularity. And so Katie’s sold-out final fight will bring down the curtain on another summer in Dublin 3, after The Weeknd and Bon Jovi have had their say this month. I found myself questioning my judgment on Croker again over the last week, as the GAA experienced some blowback for the decision to host Manchester United and Leeds United in a preseason friendly game. It was another sell-out, for a parody of what competitive sport is supposed to be. But everyone seemed to have a fine time. READ MORE I was in the War Memorial Gardens on important journalistic business (trying to watch a solar eclipse through a cereal box), so unfortunately I was unable to watch, but the whole evening seemed to pass off without a hitch. The following morning I went to work and had a couple of emails waiting for me, asking for an urgent debate on this issue. The basic upshot was that the GAA had to have a discussion about the future of these events in Croke Park. Who are they for? Who is deciding what happens? Where does the money go? I was rather taken aback. Saying that the GAA reinvests 83 cent of every euro it takes in is so well-established a fact that it almost feels pointless referencing it ... but it’s true. Croke Park’s doors close to GAA activity at the end of July, and locking it up until a couple of club games a week or two before Christmas makes no business sense. These concerts, football matches and boxing events are of clear benefit to GAA members across the country. The GAA doesn’t have to say yes to everyone and everything, but I saw nothing egregious this summer. I wish that non-game last week wasn’t sponsored by a betting company, but the GAA’s stance on betting sponsorship is years ahead of other sports in this country. Maybe I’m wrong; maybe the Bookies Cup featuring two Premier League teams beloved in this country really is a red line and I’m an arch-capitalist and a disgrace to my association? People will say that Croke Park is a historic venue, not an asset to be sweated. But another historic venue in the GAA is Thurles, and Jarlath Burns said earlier this month that he wants to see the “sense of prestige” restored to Semple Stadium. The cost of upgrading Thurles will be in the region of €10 million – and that’s not for a new stand or a new terrace. That’s just for electrical and plumbing work, basic maintenance. Thurles is historic. It’s also not a very comfortable spectator experience, and that’s even before you talk to a wheelchair user. The Gaels of Tipperary will no doubt happily sell raffle tickets to each other, but getting Manchester United fans to raise some of that money instead is easier and doesn’t divert funds from clubs’ own fundraising. [ RTÉ to broadcast Katie Taylor’s farewell fight in Croke ParkOpens in new window ] Another historic venue in the GAA is Casement Park in Belfast, where the diggers are in, knocking down stands and levelling terraces. It would be wonderful if the GAA were able to organise a meitheal and get Casement rebuilt, but life ain’t that simple. And Thurles and Belfast are just two examples. MacHale Park in Castlebar is still a financial burden. Mayo clubs were disgruntled at ticketing arrangements around the All-Ireland final this year, which levied extra costs on to clubs for their full allocation of tickets. When there’s a financial shortfall on major infrastructural projects, it often falls on regular members of small clubs up and down the country to put their hands in their pockets. The redevelopment of Croke Park cost around €285 million, and it’s been debt-free since 2014. It has also raised people’s expectations for comfort and safety. People going to Cork home games in the Munster hurling championship know they’re getting a very different fan experience there than at the other four grounds in that competition. The Páirc is hosting Ireland against Kazakhstan in a Women’s World Cup playoff in October, and it’s brilliant that fans in Munster get international games closer to home. No other regional GAA ground in Ireland is capable of hosting an event of that stature. If Manchester United friendlies make the job of raising the standard of other grounds around the country easier (and it does), then I’m sorry, I just can’t see the problem. I’ll even hand in my Fíor-Gael card at the next meeting if required.