They say they benchmark ticket prices off other unions and concerts in Ireland and closely monitor the market.
Despite a mixed reaction to the match-day experience at the Aviva Stadium and complaints from fans outside of Dublin about the cost of coming to international games, the union are still putting up the ‘sold-out’ signs on a regular basis.
Revenue from senior men’s international matches represents about 80pc of the union’s €71.5m in revenue and, having lost €18.6m last year, they say there is pressure on them to increase the amount of money coming in in a challenging television market.
It doesn’t want to dip too far into its €69m in cash reserves or liquidate its €87m in assets, while it is also trying to ensure its programmes are not cut.
Chief executive Kevin Potts says he expects all of the leading out-of-contract internationals to stay in Ireland despite speculation linking several players, including Robbie Henshaw, Jack Conan and Tadhg Furlong, to France.
Hiking the already-expensive ticket prices is on the cards.
“We can’t say at this stage, but we’ll review [the situation] after Saturday [following the international against Australia at the Aviva],” commercial director Pádraig Power said.
“We’ve got England and France this year and there’s always lots of demand. It’s about finding the balance between the revenue we need and making sure people are happy to pay.
“We benchmark our ticket prices domestically and internationally. Domestically, we look at soccer, GAA, concerts, some of which are one-offs, Taylor Swift, for example.
“Particularly amongst our Six Nations colleagues, we benchmark and make sure we are not as expensive as England and France, [although] we are a bit more expensive than the others.
“We have the smallest stadium and we all have about five or six games to maximise revenue.
“We put a lot of work into it, we have a ticket working part, we consult. The proof of the pudding is that we have four full houses, so we are there or thereabouts.”
Potts wouldn’t comment on the Munster coaching situation, saying it was a matter for performance director David Humphreys.
He is, however, abreast of the contract negotiations that are ongoing with leading players.
“I think we are confident we can retain all of our top players. They are happy to play in Ireland, the contract negotiations are what they should be: robust, but collaborative,” he said.
“I’d be confident they’d all stay here. There’s more than financial reasons why players might stay here.
“You can go to France or England and end up with a shorter career, whereas here, you’re playing 18-22 games, your welfare is genuinely catered for. Our players tell us that.”
