Coral Gables Riviera-Times

Action Due On Biltmore Operation Tonight

Commission To Name Coliseum Tax

First Year Budget Set At $43,500

With normal weather conditions the Biltmore golf course will be ready for play between December first and fifth and the city commission is expected to approve an estimated first-year operating and maintenance budget of $43,500 for the recently-acquired course at its meeting tonight. Those were the disclosures made this morning by Mayor W. Keith Phillips and Wilbur "Umps" Clark, who will temporarily manage the course for the first 90 days of its operation under the city. In addition, the commission will act upon two proposals offered by Clark for setting up membership dues and green fees. Memberships will be classified as resident and non-resident and greens fees will also vary to summer and winter rates, with both free-holders and residents paying like amounts for use of the facilities. "Rock-Bottom" Budget Clark stressed that the operating budget which will be submitted will be "rock-bottom" for maintaining the course. "The present plan covers just the cost of putting the course in playing shape, painting the locker room and fixing up the club house, without any other extensive improvements." Cost of refurbishing the 18-hole layout for the early December deadline was set at $9,500. According to Clark, City Parks crews under the supervision of Harley Pittman have been working on the course for the past week and definite progress is being made. O'Rourke To Be Greenskeeper John O'Rourke, who has been greenskeeper at the Biltmore for over six years, will remain in that capacity after the course opens, Clark said.

Beachcomber Goes Again At Biscayne

Five of the stars in last Saturday night's inaugural stakes will return to tonight's featured ninth race at the Biscayne Kennel club, a 10-race schedule starting at 7:45 p.m. It is a schedule of five events at 5-16 mile, three at the 6-16-ths middle distance and two over the marathon Biscayne course. In the headline ninth, in the spotlight will be Beachcomber, the Paul Sutherland star which broke fast from the middle of the pack in the inaugural and went on to a five-lengths victory. Although his first official start of the season, the son of More Taxes-Soapy Hands, covered the 5-16 mile in 32 seconds flat or within four-fifths second of the all-time track record.

SPORTS

CORAL GABLES Riviera Times TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 PAGE SIX SPORTS

SCORE CARD | Fight Game Hanging On Tax Ropes Here

CORAL GABLES— SCORE CARD By DON CUDDY Fight Game Hanging On Tax Ropes Here Indirectly, the city commission votes tonight on whether Coral Gables will become one of the major prize fight marts in the South, and the question of whether the five percent admissions tax on professional promotions is advisable is a complicated problem to tackle. That the taxpayers should not pay for the added cost of police and fire protection is logical. The Sports Commission is a necessity if there's going to be boxing and wrestling in our town and to run on a businesslike basis there should be a paid director. That, ostensibly is the purpose of the tax and the motive is a good one. The facts support W. H. Peeples" contention that few cities apply any kind of head tax to promotion activities, and I believe he's sincere when he says that Chris Dundee will not promote first-grade boxing cards (or otherwise) if the tax goes through. Peeples says that he will not try to fight against the tide to promote the matches himself, but that just means that he'll eventually dig up some operator who will book mediocre shows into the Coliseum just to squeeze out what nickels can be made on fight-hungry winter visitors—which puts the kibosh on one of the finer objectives of opening up the Coliseum. Outlaw Ring Shows Here? If no competent and principled promoter will touch the shows there after the tax goes into effect, I honestly believe that the Sports Commission, in its first official act, should prohibit professional ring shows at the Coliseum and then, there being no practical end it can serve, dissolve itself. In the case of boxing, half a loaf is less desirable than none at all. Sweat Out Two Year Lease That will leave the Coliseum to the University, the Youth Center, and other civic and fraternal groups. They may have to pay more for its use than originally planned and Peeples might find himself in the position of two years from now where he'll have to drop the option on the leasing of the Coliseum—again leaving Miami without a suitable indoor arena. That is kind of rough on Peeples, but in the long run it's fairer to thecas h customers. Compromise Rate Desirable There's one alternative and that is working out a compromise plan between the new Sports Commission and Peeples to defray the necessary expenses. The city commission will be well ahead of the game if they reserve a decision on the tax issue in passing the required emergency ordinance creating the Athletic Commission tonight. Riddle Quintet Has Head Of Steam Steam from excess enthusiasm was blowing forth from the Colonnade building this morning where basketball coach Leo Boles of the Riddle Inter-American College team is putting the pressure on his lads to get them ready for their first game against Edison Junior College of Fort Myers. They enter the first "formal" collegiate competition the young college has been at the Edison High School gymnasium and then play a 24-game schedule. Boles has fifteen willing ball players straining at the leash ... and he's got good reason to think that his squad will go places. This should be classified in the Hope-I'm-Wrong-But-It-Looks-That-Way-To-Me-Department ... for I think lack of experience will count heavily against the Riddlers in the won-lost column this coming season.

Shuler May Miss Gator Clash; 'Canes Prep Behind Locked Doors

Hal Shuler, veteran University of Miami center may be out of the Florida game Friday with a shoulder dislocation suffered in his slam-bang line-backing game against Vanderbilt's Commodores, Trainer Dave Wike reported today as Coach Jack Harding took his charges behind the locked gate of Quarterbacks field in preparation for the state championship clash. Just what the Hurricanes will stress to stop the Florida attack is no secret: The Gators' bobby Forbes specializes in long breakaway scoring runs, and stopping Forbes and Hatchett will often mean the ball game. With the rubber game in the Florida-Miami rivalry just three days away, speculation as to what ace-in-the-hole Harding will produce to trip the opponents is rampant. Last year, the "secret weapon" took the form of end Andy Novak, who scored the first time the Hurricanes got their hands on the ball on a specially-concocted Hal Johnson pass play that covered 65 yards.

Phillips Declines To Name Sports Board Before Vote

The Coral Gables City Commission will act tonight to appoint a seven-member Sports Commission endowed with broad regulatory powers over all athletic events held in the city with the exception of those sponsored by the University of Miami and other non-professional groups. Each of the five members of the commission will sponsor one candidate and one alternate for posts on the board, according to a proposal submitted two weeks ago by City Manager William T. McIlwain. Mayor W. Keith Phillips declined to make the names of candidates for the new commission public until after they have been decided upon at the meeting. But the real issue in the emergency ordinance which would permit the commission to act immediately to regulate all sports activity is not the powers and membership of the board but a tentative five percent tax included in McIlwain's proposal—the purpose of which is to defray the expenses of providing adequate police and fire protection for the Douglas Road Coliseum during all events staged there and also cover the salary of a secretary for the commission. Peeples Denies Pressure Campaign McIlwain is reported to have implied that W. H. Peeples, lessor of the Coliseum from the Embry-Riddle Aviation School, has begun a "pressure campaign" to balk the tax plan. Peeples flatly denied this morning that he had made any such attempt, but said that he may have to cancel boxing and ice shows at the Coliseum because the promoters of the events, who have tentatively booked engagements through him have warned him they will not contract to present their shows if any extra city or state tax is added to the admission price. "We'll have to accept the mandate of the commission and do the best we can to bring the best shows possible in under the tax," Peeples said, "but I can show telegrams to support my contention that at least two major events which I have booked tentatively for this winter may not appear because of the tax." One of the telegrams, Peeples reported, was from Chris Dundee, New York fight promoter, who intended to stage nine first class fistic cards at the Coliseum. Dundee said in the wire that "it will be impossible to operate at the Coliseum with such a tax." A second wire, from ice show promoter George Tyson of Chicago, said that any kind of tax would make the operating costs of his ice vogues review too high to allow its presentation here. May Offer Compromise Plan Peeples said that his attorney, John Cason, may present several alternative plans for covering costs to the city if the commission asks for such suggestions.