The news that the NFL will play two games at Wembley Stadium in London next year came as a disappointment to some in Ireland, who thought that if the NFL was ready for a second game across the pond, it should have been at Croke Park in Dublin.
Croke Park, a stadium that seats 82,300 and hosted the 1996 Notre Dame-Navy college football game, is disappointed not to get an NFL game next year, stadium director Peter McKenna told the Irish Examiner.
“I think our bid stands on its own and we’re still going to continue to lobby and push for Dublin as being a venue in the future,” McKenna said. “Part of the pitch is that we’ve been very successful in hosting major events as a country heretofore. . . . I think the merits of our bid haven’t diminished. We were unfortunate this time but never say never.”
Dan Rooney, the American ambassador to Ireland whose family owns the Steelers, said he believes the NFL will have a regular-season game in Ireland eventually. Just not next year.