MIRAMAR COURTS

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 69, 14 December 1933, Page 16

MIRAMAR COURTS

Tennis Association’s Position REPLY TO CRITICISM The Wellington Lawn Tennis Association’s request to Council that an unpaid debt for paving tennis courts should be cancelled was the subject of a letter which appeared in “The Dominion of Tuesday. The correspondent, “Townsend Road,” made a number of allegations to which Mr. H. N. Burns, Hon. Secretary of the Wellington'Lawn Tennis Attribution toward the game of lawn ply• . Sir,—“ln the first place thq amount of £lOOO was recently paid off the amount owing, so that there is now only £l3OO (approximately) outstanding. My association is unable to find/ this amount by any means at its disposal, and has submitted that, in view of the work that it is doing in the interests of the sport and health of the community, that it is entitled to the favourable consideration of the council in forgoing payment. 'My association claims that, in view of what is done by the city for other sports and recreations, it is reasonable that the amount mentioned should be considered a contributtion toward the game of lawn tennis. Sports Reserves. “It is well known that the city has expended tremendous sums in the construction and maintenance of recreation grounds. I am not conversant with the actual figures, but I venture to say that the total capital value of the city reserves must run into hundreds of. thousands of pounds. Apart from the capital cost and cost of construction, there is an annual maintenance bill which I think is in the vicinity of £30,000. . I- do :not think that any return has recently been published of the fees collected from sports bodies and others using the reserves,, but I think it is a fact'that .the losses• incurred in the upkeep and maintenance of these gerunds are very considerable, and of course have to be made good out of the general rates. “What then is the position of the Tennis Association?.This body took over-on a-25-years’ lease a piece of land at Miramar which had been specifically left upon trust to the city for sports ; purposes. The land was at that time an unfrequented piece of swamp waste land, and a great deal of work was necessary, to make it useful for any sport whatever. “By its own efforts, the association raised the sum of over £BOOO which has been expended in the construction of 16 hard courts and 34 grass courts. Not only has the association expended this amount of capital, but it has also, unaided, kept the courts and grounds in excellent order for a period of nearly ten years, notwithstanding that the revenue from the courts was not sufficient for this purpose. The losses' incurred have been met out of the annual levies made bn the individual club members. “All this has been done by the association, not on freehold property belonging to it, but on property belonging to the city, and which will revert to the city in 16 years’ time with all.; improvements without one penny compensation to the association. It must not be . thought, however, thatthe city is deriving no revenue in the meantime from the land. On the contrary, the association is paying to the city the sum of £lOO annually by way of rent, and additional charges for water, rates and electricity, making a total of nearly £l5O per annum. I, am confident in saying that there is not one other sports body in Wellington, or in fact in New Zealand, which has done anything like as much, not only for .its own sport, but also for its own city. Revenue From Paved Courts. “Your correspondent has mentioned the Polo Ground, and I am aware that the council considered it necessary to purchase this ground for other sports. In the first place, is a fact that in 1924 it was at the actual suggestion of the then members of the City Council that the association considered taking a lease of the Darlington Road property, and the lease was entered into.by the City Council after a full discussion of the whole matter. Is it reasonable, therefore, at this stage tri blame the association because the City Council decided to purchase an additional ground? Your correspondent has also mentioned that the paved courts bring in £5OO a year rent. This is far from the case. Eight of the courts are hired, to a club for £175 per annum and the remainder are hired to the public as occasion permits, but the total hire revenue from paved courts and grass courts last year was_.£342/15/8 (inclusive of. the sum of £175 mentioned above). The total cost of upkeep of the courts per annum is approximately £550, based on an absolute minimum expenditure and allowing for the wages of one man only. As explained above, it.is only by making'an annual levy on all .affiliated players that the association is able to finance the upkeep of the grounds. The losses on the Miramar grounds for the last six years alone have totalled £1874. “It is obvious, therefore, that, if the City Council takes over the grounds, far from making a progt it is certain that the city would not only make a loss as in the case of other reserves, but also lose the £l5O revenue which it is at present deriving from the association. So far from obtaining any relief from rates, it Is probable that the ratepayers would find an additional burden thrust upon them.. “In conclusion, I would like to make it clear that the Tennis Association is not a public corporation paying large dividends to its shareholders. It is purely an association of amateur clubs existing. merely for the advancement of the game of lawn tennis.. It exists for the purpose of providing the cheapest possible facilities for playing the game by all sections of the community. Even in the remote possibility of the association managing to make money, every penny would go back into the game to provide better and cheaper courts and playing facilities. My association considers these objects are worthy of the support, of the city, and, quite apart from the financial aspect. that it is entitled to the favourable consideration of the council to the request to forgo payment of the sum now outstanding.’’.