CONCERNING THE PAVILION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXVII, Issue 7084, 24 January 1907, Page 2

CONCERNING THE PAVILION.

TO THE KDITOB

£3j ß) —lt will doubtless interest your subscribers to learn that .the authorities who control the newlyvereoted Pavilion have decided to charge sports clubs, e(c, £15 for the use of a portion of the Pavilion for (say) an afternoon, and in the event of the Club's inability to pay the ab">ve amount, they (the authorities) might probably reduce the rent to JBIO. This charge, however, is made for the use of dressing rooms and grand stand only, as the olub renting the Pa7ilion is absolutely debarred from providing any eefreshoient-'. As the price of admission to the grand ttand Would, in all probability, be the same as that levied in other centres —namely, 6d, it would take 400 paople to pa'ronise the stand to enable the club to pay expenses, and that only in the event of the Domain Board generously reducing the fee to £10. Anyone who has had experience of athletio gatherings in this town will recognise at once that the chances are very much against an attendance of 400 people being scoured for the grand stand. Expenses, and those only, might possib'y be met if a lower rental was charged, and that to include the right of having the : refreshment room ; but when the auth >ri r [ tics hold the exclusive right of, op calling tenders for, providing refreshments, then I must say that the charge made is a ridiculous, one. I would like to know whether the authorities considered, when fixing the rental, how many patrons a club might be likely to obtain, and if so, if they considered whether everyone who | paid for admission to the oval would take a j seat in.the grand stand? Also, if they consider it consistent to let the top half (the grand stand) and to reserve to them selves the right of trading in the lower half of the building by selling refreshment?, and also whether the Pavilion was erected with the idea of making money, or of its only being self-supporting, I trust that others will join in conveying to the controlling body their disapproval of that body's action in regard to this matter. Fiv? Psr Cewt.