The Washington times., 1937-01-23
Auditorium
Here Would
Aid Sport
By KIRK MILLER
Times Sports Editor

Nobody in Washing
ton should be proud
that it took Inaugural
weather in which Noah
would not have floated
his Ark to jar us into
realizing that the Cap
ital of the greatest ma
tion on the globe re-
quires a commodious
enclosure in W h i C h
civic and sports events
can be carried out -
snow, f o g or h i g h
water.
It is regrettable that the
health and well-being Of so
many high dignitariss of the
nation and as many side
liners had to be jeopardized
in order to forcefully drive
home the desirability of an
adeuuate auditorium for Wash
ington.
But it may have been worth
the general discomforture prevail
ent last Wednesday. If the deplor-
able experience leads to giving
Washington something that most
world capitals already poSesS-an
arena for monster indoor demon
strations, conventions, sports pres
entations and civic and national
exhibits.
Twin Athletic Needs
And if such an auditorium
does come to Washi1-. ION. now
that Secretary Ickes aid other
Administration leaders are aroused
TO- its need, possibly it will be the
forerunner of stadium of ma
tional character also, which
would provide the twin athletic
need of so majestic a country as
ours.
I need not point out to anybody
the civic or national need of both
edifices, but possibly I may en-
tighten a few as to the sportive
uses to which both an auditorium
and stadium here would lend
themselves.
Several times year the Ma
tional Capital should be able to
fill both indoor and outdoor
arenas here with sports spectacles
The spending power Of the city is
well known in the several indus
tries which already possess turn
stiles locally. AS guage, let
me say that per capita, you will
not find a better moving picture
city in America.
D. C.. Spending POIOer
People here are blessed with
pocket money for purposes Of en-
joyment. Baseball, football and
race track receipts prove that the
best is none too good and that
Washington will buy in generous
quantity the higher class Sportive
entertainment provided within its
gates or at its borders.
Basketball, one of the fastest
growing winter sports in the ath-
letic almanac, has hardly been
graZed here, for the simple reason
that the sport cannot be developed
in accordance with its commercial
possibilities because there is no
gymnasium nearly big enough to
create guarantees to bring high
class quints that play Immediately
to the North.
The hockey, professional and
amateur, has knocked at the door
of every large city of the East
and found welcome response,
winter after winter.
Professional boxing is only be-
ing "toyed with" here and college
boxing will already pack any uni
versity gymnasium in the vicinity.
The former is being held back for
lack of a spacious enclosure; the
latter has adequate facilities at
present but no chance for expan-
sion.
TwO Big Journeys
A national collegiate boxing
tournament couldn't be brought to
Washington under existing phySi-
cal facilities, nor could national
basketball tournament.
Yet either would attract throngs
Of visitors for week at time
and give Washington full winter
sport program, second to none.
AS to a stadium, if I may repeat
convictions expressed herein prob
ably on too many occasions-that
is also an urgent domestic need.
The Olympics should come here
Continued on Page II, Col. 81
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