GUNTUR: The decision of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) to hike user fee at government stadiums in the city has not gone well with the parents as well as some sports associations. Recently, SAAP had initiated a scheme, ‘Pay and Play’, under which it increased the annual fee of Rs 150-Rs 200 to Rs 1,500-Rs 3,000 on select sports including badminton, cricket, skating, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and yoga reportedly due to the rise in maintenance cost as well as to provide better facilities to the athletes.
The annual fee includes admission and a monthly fee. Opposing the scheme, various sports associations, parents, and athletes have been staging protests at BR Stadium (in pic), which comes under the management of SAAP, demanding the authorities to revoke the new order.
As per the revised prices, children below 14 years of age have to pay Rs 1,000 admission fee and Rs 500 monthly fee whereas those above 14 years have to pay Rs 2,000 as admission fee and Rs 1,000 monthly fee. Approximately 1,600 children take coaching for various sports at the BR Stadium. They have to pay a fee to practice the sport of their choice under proper guidance of certified coaches.
On the other hand, district sports authority chief coach Muralidhar denied that the hiked price for training was unreasonable. Speaking to TNIE, he said, “The fee has been increased after considering the high cost of maintenance of the stadium, playfields, electrical and water charges, cleaning chemicals, remuneration of coaches and staff. We also want to provide more facilities to the athletes.”
Stating that the authorities believe in encouraging poor children to take up sports, Muralidhar explained that for kids from below the poverty line and poor financial conditions, students from government schools are provided training free of cost.
Elaborating, he said, “The user fee is only collected from middle-class students and those who can afford to pay the fees so that all the athletes can be provided with better facilities and opportunities.”
Expressing his displeasure over the hike, N Ram Babu, a parent said, “It is one thing to increase the admission fee but to hike the monthly fee from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 is insane. We are already facing financial problems due to increased prices of daily commodities and are still recovering from Covid-19 imposed economic crisis. There is no way we can afford Rs 1,000 on sports every month. As a middle-class parent, I can’t afford to enrol my child in some private training institution. Looking at my son’s enthusiasm in sports, I enrolled him at BR Stadium as the prices were reasonable.” Ram Babu further requested the officials to decrease the monthly fee.