The Battle for the Ball Park
A legal tug-of-war over site rentals for the Walla Walla Military Band's summer carnival pits the property owner against the baseball management.
Coincident with the troubles of the fruit fair management in securing a site for this year, the promoters of the Walla Walla Military Band's mid-summer carnival were not sure of a site for the holding of the coming carnival until this morning. Controversy over the rent of the ball park, selected for holding the carnival, has been rampant between the management of the ball association and the owner of the park, Hollon Parker, for several days. According to an understanding reached this morning, the carnival will be held on the grounds as advertised, and the management of the baseball association will collect the rent to defray expenses already contracted. Mr. Parker contended that the license which the association holds did not call for the use of the grounds for any other purposes than baseball and that the rent charged for any other purposes should go to him. The baseball management took a different view of the matter and consulted attorneys with the result that opinions were handed down to the effect that the management has a right to sub-let the grounds for any legitimate purpose.
“Mr. Parker contended that the license which the association holds did not call for the use of the grounds for any other purposes than baseball.”
Conflicts over land use and revenue-sharing for public events remain a staple of municipal administration in Walla Walla. The tension between property owners and community organizers highlights the ongoing civic friction over who controls the city's shared spaces.
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