Sofas banned at the 'House'

In a move that has devastated the local Dunedin student population and ended decades of tradition, sofas, couches and armchairs have been banned from the terraces of Carisbrook. No longer will the House of Pain be comfortable.

A combination of Otago cricket officials and the local police have combined forces to ensure that students will no longer be able to carry the contents of their lounge to cricket or rugby matches, a practise that is believed to have started over 40 years ago.

"We realise that people are upset by the ending of a tradition but times change and we must move forward," explained Chief Detective Constable Inspector Richard Pennis.

"For the last couple of years we've had some problems with students getting their sofas caught in the turnstiles on the way into the stadium and that creates a delay which could turn nasty," Pennis said.

Cricket Board spokesperson Fillov Hotayre endorsed the stand taken by the Constabulary: "We have to take the comfort of everyone into account - it's not just about a few students having some fun.

What about the sofas themselves? It's often very cold and wet on the terraces of Carisbrook. It's just not fair to them," Hotayre said.

"A sub committee of the leisure and activities committee took an executive decision that it wasn't in their interests to have the stadium associated with a so-called tradition that is novel, fun or different.

We must head towards conformity. The Australians have been doing it for years - they don't even allow beach balls into their stadiums and they're the world champions," Hotayre said.

Students Group leaders were shocked and angry at the decision. "We're shocked and angry at the decision," said Students Group leaders. "It's a bloody disgrace."