Unrealistic, injustified and unacceptable is how the executive of the Saint John Alpines describes the proposed increase of about 80-percent to the rental rate for Memorial Field, where the team plays its home games.
A letter has been sent to Common Council that says last year they paid just over $22 an hour and this proposal for this year is just over $40 an hour. The cost to rent Memorial Field would go up from just over $1500 for the regular season to just over $2700 and that’s excluding playoffs.
Terre Hunter says they aren’t looking for a free ride but they feel the increase is unrealistic. He also believes the hike will discourage reaction.
“It would not prevent us from operating but I can see that with other teams, particularly some of the youth teams they are going to have to increase the rates they have for their users and it flows through,” he says.
The letter is included in Common Council’s agenda packet for the meeting on Monday.
