LANCASTER PARK USE

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28551, 2 April 1958, Page 12

LANCASTER PARK USE

Plans For Soccer Game Fail A proposal by the Canterbury Rugby Union that an inter-pro-vincial Rugby match be played as a curtain raiser to a Soccer match has been refused by the Canterbury Football Association. A statement on negotiations was made to "The Press" by the secretary of the Canterbury Rugby Union (Mr M. G. Teague) after a meeting of the management committee of the union yesterday afternoon. An application had been made by the Canterbury Football Association to the Victory Park Board for the use of Lancaster Park on Monday, June 2, for a match with the Spartak Club, of Jugoslavia, the statement said, “The application was referred to the union for its comment because of the long-standing Rugby fixture against Mid-Canterbury customarily played at the Park on the same date. “In an endeavour to reach a satisfactory solution, the union approached and obtained the consent of the Mid-Canterbury union to play the Rugby match as a curtain-raiser to the Soccer match. "We have’ been advised that the Canterbury Football Association regards our proposal as unacceptable. “In our view it is unfortunate that the Canterbury Football Association has refused the compromise offered but, since our representative fixture with MidCanterbury has been an annual one for many years, our only course now is to inform the board that we require the park again this year on the Queen’s Birthday,” said the statement. When he was approached last evening, the president of the Canterbury Football Association (Mr J. Smith) said that his association had received no communication from the Victory Park Board. Until this came, he had no statement to make.