Meals, souvenirs sell slowly

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33448, 1 February 1974, Page 18

Meals, souvenirs sell slowly

Sales of beer, hot dogs, chocolate, soft drinks and ice-cream at Queen Elizabeth II Park have been steady, but little money is being spent on Games souvenirs or meals.

Mr R. L. Hand, the caterer at the Park Royal Restaurant, next to the swimming hall, described public patronage as very disappointing. "We haven’t had a quarter of the numbers we expected. and so 35 to 40 per cent of my staff has been put off.

p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.,” Mr Hand said. “We hired and brought over an Australian entertainer to play for four hours each night on a lump-sum contract. The first night he performed for four persons. There were none the second night, 17 on the third night, and on the fourth he returned to Australia.” The restaurant, which can cater for 250 diners at a time, had rarely been full, said Mr Hand.

“Originally we planned to stay open from 11 a.m. to midnight but because the demand is not there we now open from 11 a.m. to 2.30

One facility which has done steady business since Thursday last week is the Games post office. By Wednesday it had handled 22,000 pieces of mail and sold $3OOO worth of stamps—mostly Games stamps. In the week 1100 souvenir packs of Games stamps, at 85c a pack, and 150 $1 posters featuring New Zealand stamps, have been sold.

The sale of film from booths close to the stadium have been good, and the people running beer tents are more than satisfied with the week’s consumption.