Page 26, May 30,.1979 --North Shore News

oe

by Jim Kearne y

and the Lions

Whether the Lions go into the new , Canadian

Football League season. with a winner is yet to be

known. One. thing for sure, though: they do go

into the new season with the highest average price

in the country.

At $12.50 tops for seats
between the Empire Stadium
~ goal lines, the Lions now
.lead the league in that
department. It works out to

almiost a dollar an inch for -

parking space on the old and
inadequate stadium’s
wooden planks.

‘The team that opened
_training camp in Courtenay
on Sunday not only is
fighting for a playoff position
these days, but also for its
very existence. It must:
perform attractively on the
field just to say alive for a
little while longer.

-For half a dozen seasons
now, the Lions have been
defying business iogic, the
doomsayers and 10 per cent
annual inflation. But

-nothing changes, meaning if
they don’t get into a new or
improved stadium, the white
flag could go up by 19872.

NO CHANGE

That was the word three
months ago from the club’s
retiring president, Jack
Farley. Nothing has hap-
pened since to alter this
estimate.

The Lions were ~ and still
aré -- nailing their hopes to

Smithers
champions

The North West District
team from the Smithers area
has become the Midget
Provincial Girls volleyball
champion after a recent
tournament held at = Clear-
brook,

defeated the
Island = District
17-15, 15-7.

The team
Vancouver
team, 9-45,

The tournament was_ the
culmination of a year long
process of developing volley-
ball from) various districts
throughout the province

Team members were
selected oat a Christmas
camp, and teams trained
together during the winter
and spring.

The tournament was part
of the B.C. Volleyball Assoac-
iation’s = Provincial Team
program which is designed to
develop the skills of B.C.'s
top players and coaches.

Sailing Lessons
Come out to saa with us .
in our 26° Thunderbirds.

6 tessons for $79.
Gat your certificate from us.
Next course startea 6 P.M.

JUNE 6
THUNDERBIRD
SAILING SCHOOL (Est. 1065)
2540 Bellevue Ave.,
Weat Vancouver

926-2634

‘the much

if”

talked about
Multiplex project. And
apparently things have
changed, for the better, on
the PNE’s projected
stadium -exhibition -agri-
cultural space complex. It
only goes to show the differ -
ence an election can make.

You may remember that

three or four months ago in
this space, I offered to push
PNE president Erwin
Swangard down Lonsdale in
a wheelbarrow if he ever got
Multiplex off the ground.

This week he and. your.

agent were on the blower
again and his opening words
were a suggestion. that
maybe we should up the
stakes by betting a bottle of
12-year-old Scotch, as well.

Inasmuch as Erwin doesn't
make such wagers lightly,
something good must have
happened. It can only be
that Joe Clark is now the
head honcho in Ottawa.

BACK UP

But let's go back a bit.
Before the two elections he
had only one direct com-
mitment to the then $163.5
million project: a promise
from subsequently defeated

sports minister Iona
Campagnola. for one-third
the cost of the Multiplex
stadium component.

At that_time. the stadium
figured to cost $90 million,

‘so Ottawa was in for $30

million if Victoria and the
PNE came up with like
amounts.

_ Since then he has had a
letter from Clark — it arrived
during the election cam-
paign — categorically stating
that in the event of a Con-
servative victory the
commitment would reniain.

Not only that, but it
promised a sympathetic look
at similar commitments for

the trade and agriculture _

components. Further, it
noted that Clark was fully
aware of a commitment to
Multiplex by the party's
B.C. caucus.

Now, add in the following.
While Swangard has been
the chief Barker for
Multiplex, a close runnerup
is ex-radio station executive
Don Hamilton, who doubles
in brass as Swangard’s. chief
lieutenant on the project
and as the B.C. organizer of
the federal Tory campaign.

GENTLE STROKE

He didn’t deliver 20 B.C.
seats to the Tories all on his
own, but he certainly was a
major mover and shaker.
Those seats permitted Joe to

kind -

form a government, so if
your -agent has a correct

reading on the political debts’

involved, there should be

some action shortly.

: Meanwhile, when Bill
Bennett announced his
goodies-loaded budget just

- before calling the provincial

election, he included $25
million towards a sports
stadium in the greater
Vancouver area.

He didn't
that’s where it undoubtedly
will go if and when federal

‘funding starts to arrive. The

25 million is a 1979-80
budget item. The Socreds
figure to be around for four
years before calling another
election, so there should be
more of the same available
once Miultiplex gets un-
derway. ‘

But how tong can Clark
operate a minority govern-
ment before going back to
the people? The PNE is
betting three years, which
should see the project
through.

What it is figuring on,
financially, is a three-way
split — $58 million each from
Ottawa, Victoria and itself.
Where does the PNE get that
-of lolly? From its
friendly—tNanker, says
Swan: . Tiican carry a
debt load of that amount.

UP, UP AND AWAY

Add it all up and it comes
to $174 million, more than
$10 million over the
originally projected cost,
based on turning the first sod
Oct. 1. That date was quietly
ditched about a month ago in
favor of a more realistic
April 1, 1980, start. Such are
the inroads of inflation. And
the inroads will travel along
at the rate of $44,000 a day
for every day's delay after
April 1.

No changes in the
projected completion dates,

. definitely
‘aHocate it to Multiplex, but

however — the summer of
1982 for the exhibition
complex; Oct. 1 of the same
year for the stadium.

The Lions hope he’s right,
for heading into the new
season their big worry is not
the running backs’ ability to

carry the ball, but the ability
of the front office, to con--

tinue carrying the debt load.

Their deadline is 1982. So
is the PNB’s. If it all works
out, it will be the happiest —-
coincidence of the decade
for both parties.

Gymnasts perform —

A Silver medal by Elaine

’ Prescott_of Flicka gym club

was the best performance by
North Shore athletes at the
Canadian National
Championships
Winnipeg over the weekend.

Competing in the new
national Novice category,
the 13 year old picked up
first place in the vault with a

score of 8.85, a second in the--

floor exercises with 8.85 and
a fourth in the uneven bars
with a 8.40 score to give her
the overall silver medal.

The young gymnast was
nudged out of first place by
Melissa Hawrylyshyn from
Ontario. The eastern
champion collected 34.55
points to beat out Elaine

held in

Prescott who had a ‘total of

34.20 points.

‘There: were 44 entries in
the novice category.

In junior competition,
Anita Botnen finished eighth
over-all with a sixth place
finish in balance beam and a
ninth in-the uneven bars.

The Flicka gymnast leaves
for England on Sunday
where she will compete with
the Canadian team in two
meets, one on June 7 and the
other, a dual meet between .
Canada and England on June
9,

The next big event for
gymnasts will be the Pan Am
Games in the fall.

West Van Soccer
Association meeting

The annual general
meeting of the West Van-
couver Soccer Association is
scheduled for Wednesday,
May 30, at 7:30 p.m.

‘The meeting will be held in
the Oak Room of the West

Vancouver
Centre.

Recreation

BURDETT SOCCER CLUB.

REGISTRATION/SOCCER CLINIC
AGES 6 TO9
SATURDAY, JUNE 2 AND 9 — 10:00 - 12:00

' SUTHERLAND SCHOOL FIELD

(2 Blocks east of. Grand Blvd. along 18th St.)

WALT PERRI

985-9684