The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-06-12
ENGLAND in NEED OF
FAIRGROUNDS FOR
$4,000 PERSONS
Not Enough Room in Lon
don and Vicinity for
Outdoor Games.
NO FREE SPACE IN PARKS
$4,000 Want to Play Tennis,
$4,000 Cricket and 49,
900 Football.

Gseeial Cable to THE NEW YonK HERALD
Covyrf0nr, 1891, By THE NEW York HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau
Lon1cn, June IL.
The most annoying crisis London
has faced since the beginning of the
war has nothing to do with the Ger
mans or Ireland or the coal strike. 1t
has developed with the balmy spring
weather in the form of a lack OF play
grounds for British sportswomen and
sportsmen. Everybody wants to play
outdoor games and there is not enough
room in London and the neighborhood.
or at least not enough has yet been
developed, for that purpose.
In all the history of England there
has never been such rush to play popu-
lar games as this year. For Instance. II
Is authoritatively figured that 35.00o
daily want to play lawn tennis. Five
thousand cricket teams Of eleven men
each want to play this game and 45,O0O
want to play football. All this is in ad-
dition to golf, which Is by far the most
popular game in England; hockey. la
crosse and polo being others. There Is
no apparent reason for this surprising
enthusiasm for sports except a natural
rejuvenation that has come after live
years of war;
IT is an actual fact that to play an
outdoor game in London Is really
hardship because of the scarcity OF
places in which to play. Here there are
70 free tennis courts and football fields
in the public parks as in America. In
order to play tennis or cricket one must
belong to a club which entails an APP
preciable subscription fee, and now even
these have long waiting lists and have
no hope Of being able to accommodate
all those who wish to join this season
and probably won't be able to do SO for
two or three seasons.
wants 600 More Acres.
In addition to those figures compiled
by sport experts there are literally tens
of thousands who would gladly join IN
il only they could find room to play.
One enterprising sports critic is crying
for five hundred or six hundred more
acres for sporting grounds Just to meet
the present demand. England Is more
eager to play. more healthy ana more
strenuous than ever before and like
curbed three-year-old. she Is champing
at the bit to get away.
The number of persons who play tennis
and cricket in London to-day. the acres
devoted to these games and the money
spent would have staggered sport pronts
of twenty years ago. The London Coun-
ty Council Tennis Club alone has 10000
registered players. And with the system
of registration 1t is necessary to wait
three and four weeks for a game In order
TO deal justly with the enormous number
of applicants for the 500 courts under its
control. The organization is building
fifty extra courts, but even these will not
begin to meet the demand. which Is four
and Ave times above the accommoda-
tions.
There are five times as many courts
to-day as before the war, which is
fourth of what Is necessary. 1t Is true
that tennis has taken on vastly greater
Importance during the past half-dozen
years. but the game alone is only an
indication Of a desired outlet for the
sports fever which has grown to such an
astounding degree.
The spread of cricket has been re-
tarded for the same reason--there is no
room to play. This presents a more
difficult problem because a cricket field
requires four acres. Cricket clubs in
London alone are looking for 5000 acres.
There are now 700 clubs, embracing
60, 900 players, and all have long walt
ing lists. Football is suffering the same
tate, because large ETOuIluS dio httNNt'
The London County Council has over
thousand applications despite the fact
that there are more than twice as many
fields this year as last. They need
five times as many fields In order to
satisfy the demand.
Football and Golf.
The secretary of the London Football
Association figures that there will be
3. 900 football clubs playing next win
ter with another 1000 II there is any
hope of getting more grounds. These
will all play within twelve miles OF
Charing Cross and they average twenty
men 10 a club. The number of football
players alone has grown four times as
great as the number before the war.
Golf presents probably the most diff
cult problem, for 1t is the business mans
game which the workingman has learned
TO like. This is probably not true in
America but in England everybody loves
golf and the clubs are absolutely
swamped with applications for member
ships
Experts believe that the Angio-Amer-
lean sports coming after the war great
" encouraged this admirable desire to
participate In games known on both
sides of the Atlantic. The Englshman
is too good n sport to relish being beaten
all the time and this year the keen In
terest in the international golf. polo and
tennis matches has shown clearer than
anything else how the English love these
friendly Tits. Also there are resident
Americans who are trying to find place
to tee off and swing the racquet. and
these, on learning of the recent Ameri-
can reverses. wish that England would
play baseball But England Is not en-
tirely to blame for the lack OF accommo-
dations afforded her sport enthusiasts.
for IL is a cold geographical rather than
enort fact that she hasn't the ROOM