Honolulu Record, August 26, 1948, vol. 1 no. 4, p. 6
K. O. WARREN
In next week's concluding article on his series on boxing, the writer will take up what the press agents, sports writers and officials can do to clean up the fighting game and fulfill their public responsibility. Without pulling punches he'll tell where to begin.
Blame the Commissioners
The matter of prices for seats at the Stadium and the Civic Auditorium is one of the pet grievances of the boxing public. The idea back of the promoters has been to charge as much as the traffic will bear.
As I understand it, the boxing commissioners are responsible in protecting the public interest. More often than not, the commission has too readily approved price increases demanded by promoters. Let's see what the book says. Rule 351 states:
"The price of tickets for all boxing exhibitions and contests must be submitted to the Commission for its approval."
Squeeze Play on General Admission
I don't know whether the commissioners are aware, but "Leo the Lion" has been putting one over on the commission and the public for the past three months at the Auditorium. What used to be a general admission section has now been "crowded out" by reserved seats. The most amazing situation at the Civic Auditorium is that there are more reserved seats than general admission seats.
Now, the commission may not believe this. I would recommend the commission to take an actual count of the reserved section and the general admission section. While I would not like to wager even a penny, I dare say, the promoters have taken the public and the commissioners for a ride again.
The price of tickets for general admission may not have been increased, but whole sections of what used to be set aside for general admission have now been taken up by the reserved section with premium prices. Prices are the same for general admission, but O Boy! . . . look where you have to sit!
To Mention a Few "Beefs"
While I am on the subject of the Civic Auditorium, I would like the management to consider seriously some "beefs" of the boxing public,
The first on the "beefing" agenda is the toilet facilities. The dingy, unpainted place that "passes" for toilet is a public disgrace. There should be more paper towels available on nights when boxing events are scheduled. This goes for every night when a sporting event is going on.
A good coat of paint and some good lighting would certainly improve the appearance of the men's rest room. Incidentally, there is only one drinking fountain in the Civic Auditorium. And this is situated in the farthest corner of the auditorium with a narrow passageway leading to it.
How about four drinking fountains situated on the four corners of the auditorium to give the deserving public a chance to drink some plain cold water?
Needed—Fresh Air and Water
Ventilation is another thing the public gripes about, and legitimately too! But the management has done little about it. Ah yes! Some fans and blowers were installed but these good additions which the sport fans welcomed remain terribly neglected on numerous occasions. Somebody forgets to turn them on or the management does not have an adequate staff to flip on the switches.
I certainly believe the public deserves some fresh air, especially when they have to sit through a "stinking" fight. The management of the Honolulu Stadium is also guilty of not providing, drinking fountains at convenient locations. All this forces me to accuse the soda water trust and the management of both the Civic Auditorium and the Honolulu Stadium of a "conspiracy" to compel the public to drink diluted citric acid and sugar instead of some nice, cool water.