MORE THAN FIVE million people tuned into the Aer Lingus College Football Classic held at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium at the weekend.

The game, which saw Georgia Tech defeat Florida State University in a nail-biting finish, was broadcast live on ESPN in the United States.

It’s ESPN’s highest audience in a Week Zero (first week of the season) since 2019 and sets a new record for viewership of a College Football game held in Ireland on any network.

Tickets for the game sold out and 47,988 fans were in attendance, including 28,406 international visitors.

Of these, organisers say, 25,909 were US visitors who stayed in Ireland for an average of seven nights.

An additional 2,497 visitors came from 25 other countries.

Many of the surrounding streets and busy city centre areas were shut down to traffic on the day.

It is the third year that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic has brought the game to Dublin.

It received a mixed reception from locals; some will head along to the game or take part in the affiliated events around Dublin, others are against the significant use of space and resources for an American game rather than one that is played in Ireland on a regular basis, and there are plenty who didn’t even know it was happening.

According to a preliminary report by Grant Thornton, the direct economic benefit to Ireland from this year’s event is estimated to be over €115 million.

The next College Football Classic between Iowa State and Kansas State, known as “Farmageddon,” is scheduled for 23 August 2025.