The accents of Midwestern America could be heard in the hotels and streets of Dublin at the weekend as the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Northwestern Wildcats faced off in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in the Aviva Stadium. The event was marked by a very modern technological problem. Smiling faces emerged back into the stands during the first break as bar staff could not process payment. Bars at the Aviva do not accept cash. The food and drink was on the house for a period; a céad míle fáilte indeed.
The Irish Independent reported later, “Levy UK + Ireland, who were supplying food and drink services at the event, said the technical issue was not the fault of Aviva Stadium, but lay with the payment provider, a company they said was called Sumup.”
Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald celebrates with the Coach’s Award after the game. INPHO/LASZLO GECZO
On the famous Ballsbridge pitch the teams were vying for a win in the opening week of the season in the Big 10 conference and it was the “home” team Northwestern who emerged as winners, beating Nebraska 31-28. Estimates put the match and everything around it as being worth in the region of €60m to the Irish economy. The Football Classic was the first in a five-game series which is expected to inject €413m into the Irish economy between now and 2026 with an average of 23,000 visitors a year from North America and Europe. Next year will be even bigger with Notre Dame, the “Fighting Irish” traveling to Dublin.
