The promotors of Katie Taylor’s final boxing contest, to be held at Croke Park next September, will bear the burden of any losses rather than the host.
Ms Taylor will fight Flora Pili at Croke Park on 5 September in the final bout of her career.
It will be the first time that boxing has taken place at the GAA’s HQ since Muhammad Ali fought Alvin Lewis in July 1972.
Speaking on RTE’s This Week programme, Croke Park Stadium Director Peter McKenna said: “We’re doing this without risk. In saying that, you don’t want a poor result coming into the stadium. That would be bad for brand.”
Mr McKenna could not disclose how much the stadium will earn as it was “pretty commercial” but added: “I don’t want to say what it’s going to be, but it’s going to be a nice return.”
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He said the promotors of Katie Taylor’s fight, Matchroom and Aiken Promotions, are confident that they will be able to sell-out the venue.
“The capacity won’t change. The capacity will remain at 82,300.”
The Croke Park Stadium Director said he accepted there were legitimate concerns around an association between boxing and some promotors connected with organised crime.
“We need to be very careful that the association of the undercard, and other boxers who are on that undercard, do not have connections with criminal organisations – that’s for sure.
“But we shouldn’t tarnish Katie’s reputation. I mean she’s an outstanding athlete and one of the most outstanding female athletes in Ireland of all time.”
Mr McKenna said the plan for the event was still “pretty fluid” but added: “I think it’s likely we will have an undercard of other boxers fighting and that will be interspersed with appropriate music and other activities.”
500 free tickets will be made available to the local community around Croke Park.
He said that both staff from the Croke Park stadium management team and members of the gardaí travelled to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London to watch a Tyson Fury bout to learn how such an event was run successfully.