Minnesota Vikings confirmed for Croke Park as September date set for NFL clash

The game between two teams who made the playoffs last season will take place on Sunday, September 28th in the first of the NFL’s European series, which were announced in Dublin Castle this afternoon.

It makes Ireland the smallest international market to ever host an NFL game, and the only city outside the United States that will host both a NCAA college football game and an NFL game in the same year, with the Aer Lingus College Classic taking place a month prior in the Aviva Stadium.

The calibre of the teams involved, along with the high media presence and build-up to the Ireland game, makes the Dublin date the highest-profile fixture of a European slate that includes three October games in London before the league’s first games in Berlin and Madrid in November.

It comes 28 years after the Steelers played a pre-season exhibition game in Croke Park against the Chicago Bears, in front of roughly 30,000 fans. This September’s clash is expected to be a sell-out, with the capacity set by the NFL and GAA to 76,000.

The Vikings, coached by Kevin O’Connell, are one of the most exciting teams in the NFL, using their offensive flair and aggressive defensive style en route to a 14-3 record last season. They are used to playing in Europe, having hosted a game in Tottenham last October, helping to build a large fanbase in the UK and across Europe. Minnesota have won all four games they have played outside the US, including a 2013 clash with the Steelers in Wembley.

The Vikings will play two international games this season, facing the Cleveland Browns in Tottenham a week after playing in Dublin.

Minnesota faces a Steelers side who will be the designated ‘home’ team for the game, meaning a higher proportion of their fanbase is expected along with all the pageantry the team would normally bring to a game in Pittsburgh.

Pressure will now grow on accommodation and transport in the city with a large number of fans from America, the UK and Germany expected to travel. Sources have told the Irish Independent that a limit has been put on the number of Pittsburgh season-ticket holders who will make the trip across the Atlantic, due to high demands and a desire to keep tickets available for Irish and European fans.

There is no indication yet as to the ticket pricing, with the only guideline being the €80 starting price games in Tottenham (which like the Croke Park game are run centrally by the NFL and not by the ‘host’ teams) usually go for.

There is also no indication yet as to whether NFL games in Ireland could become a regular fixture, however the growing intent by the league to eventually play 16 international games a season may align with hopes that this will not be a one-off event.

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – May 13th

This game is the culmination of two years of intent from the Steelers, the NFL and the GAA to make Croke Park an NFL host venue. The State is also a heavy contributor in making this event happen, with Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan defending the €10m State funding that has gone into the game.

“This is a massive opportunity for us to get into a market and a space that we are not in already – other European cities are, other European countries are, they are all way bigger than us and this gives us an opportunity to reach an audience that we don’t reach as it is,” Minister O’Donovan said earlier this year.

The Rooney family, who trace their roots to Newry, Co Down, have a long connection to Ireland. Steelers owner Dan M Rooney was the US Ambassador to Ireland during the Barack Obama presidency. When Rooney, a prominent Irish-American, died in 2017 the team wore a shamrock logo with the DMR initials in his honour.