Profiteering

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1033, 25 July 1930, Page 7

Profiteering

ONE MAN IN WELLINGTON BOUGHT NEARLY 700 TICKETS FOR FOURTH RUGBY TEST

CROWD OF 30,000 EXPECTED Special to THE SUX WELLINGTON, Thursday. It is very evident in Wellington at the present time that an element of profiteering is occurring in the sale of seats for the fourth Test match at Athletic Park on August 9. It is difficult to apportion the blame—if there is any—but the Wellington Rugby Union, which is to control the game, is not altogether without blame. At the same time the fault is not entirely theirs and any mistakes they may have made in the past they are now attempting to wipe out or at least to alleviate. The booking for seats was advertised to open last Friday and from early Thursday morning would-be purchasers of tickets commenced to arrive at Athletic Park, remaining there all day and well into the night, when the secretary of the Rugby Union issue numbered chits to those who were in the queue. Among these were a number of people engaged to purchase up to four tickets, the full number allowed by the union, for which the final purchaser was required to pay 7s 6d a ticket in addition to the price of the ticket, 10s lid. One man. however, went still further and engaged 200 unemployed at 30s a head to purchase four tickets each for him. which, he said, he had already received orders for, but at wliat price he does not state. Of these men. all but about 30 secured the required number of tickets, so that of the 1.400 tickets available, close on 700 went into one man’s control, which with incidental expenses must ha\£ cost him over £7OO. What his profit on the whole transaction will be it is impossible to say, but already there is said to be a demand for stray seats at £5 each, and if that is true it is not difficult to imagine what will be the price as the match gets nearer. STAND HOLDS 5,000

The union’s part in the whole proceeding is still somewhat difficult to diagnose, as the new grandstand seats something in the vicinity of 5,000, so that when the plans opened on Friday morning already 3.600 of these seats had been accounted for, and. judging by the squeaks from outside unions, they do not appear to have all been sold outside Wellington. Apparently there are a number of privilege d people who have been allowed to secure their seats before the booking opened to the general public, and in some cases it was only right that these privileges should be extended. For instance, each football club has been allowed six tickets, referees have been allowed two, and other officials have been given similar courtesies, which is only a slight return for the large amount of time they devote to the administration of the game. But these do not apparently account for all the tickets, and some dissatisfaction is being expressed by that secion of the public which Saturday after Saturday pays its “bob or eighteenpence” at the park, and so keeps the flag flying during those days when international matches are not in evidence.

The Wellington Union, however, has not been idle in making arrangements for extra accommodation, and it is expected that when the match commences on August 9 at least 50,000 people will be present, and all will be able to see the match more or less satisfactorily. the bulk of them only being asked to pay 3s for the privilege. Extra accommodation is being provided on the ground itself, and these seats will all be numbered and sold at 5s each—no more tickets than there are seats, so that everybody who buys a ticket can depend on a seat. “If people only knew what arrangements are being made for the fourth Test.” said Mr Harold Murphy, at this week’s meeting of the Wellington Union, “it would stop the prdfiteering in seats which is at present going on. some unfortunate people paying as much as £ a for seats." The indications are that the union is now doing its best to cope with the demand for seats, but so long as human nature is what it is. then those who have purchased seats for speculative purposes, which cannot apparently be prevented, will continue to make huge profits by reason of the high prices which an enthusiastic Rugby public is prepared to pay to see the final Test match of a very successful tour.