GAA chiefs hope to have 42,000 in Croke Park later this year in an ambitious plan to stage inter-county championships with fans.
President John Horan is banking on the government relaxing mass gatherings and social distancing restrictions as inter-county championships have been put on hold until mid-October.
Among the plans, Horan says that seats could be installed on the famous Hill 16 terrace at HQ, while a lottery can be held for tickets, deciding which fans can attend games.
Speaking to Na Fianna GAA TV, Horan said: "We've already worked it out that if the Government allow larger crowds to gather, over the 5,000 that they currently have, we could probably put 21,000 into Croke Park safely. The operations team in Croke Park have mapped it out.
"It would cause practicalities in terms of there'd be an element of lottery for tickets. Premium ticket holders would probably have to get a credit into the following year and just do a lottery on the tickets that are actually there available for games going forward."
Croke Park can hold a capacity of 82,300. With two metre social distancing rules in place, the capacity is reduced to just 21,000, or 42,000 if the restrictions are eased to one metre.
Horan added: "Until social distancing is scaled back, we just won’t be able to pack Croke Park, it is our intention to get it open and get it going once the inter-county games start. If it goes back to one metre, we’ll be able to double the attendance to 42,000.
"There’s an issue over the Hill whether we’d have to put seating in there because really controlling crowds on terraces is always going to be a nightmare going forward."
Horan previously said that he could not see a way games or training could take place while social distancing measures remained in place.
With the GAA permitted to return on 29 June, Horan said that the association will be ‘flexible’ with any potential changes in guidelines and restrictions.
