A Whittlesea-based not-for-profit organisation for newly arrived migrants is being forced to hold its annual dance festival outside the city after RMIT University raised its venue hire fees by more than 230 per cent.
The Northern Gujarati Association of Melbourne (NGAM) has held its dance celebration, the Festival of Navratri, at the university’s sports centre in Bundoora since 2012.
NGAM president Nimesh Shah said the event attracted 100 in its first year, 750 people in 2013 and more than 850 last year.
He said the figures were a testament to the growth of the Indian community in Whittlesea and the importance of holding the event in a large venue like RMIT’s Bundoora Netball and Sport Centre.
But he was forced to look elsewhere when the university told him the venue would cost $3975 this year, not inclusive of a stage and sound system, which would add another $3000 to the total cost.
He said that in previous years they were charged $1200.
The Mill Park resident said it would not be possible to pass those costs onto the price of a ticket.
“They said this is the way it goes, but it’s just not possible to share those costs,” Mr Shah said. “I’m a Whittlesea resident, I want the event to be here but we don’t get many sponsors and I’m not a beggar. We need a big venue.”
A spokesman from RMIT University said the price quoted to NGAM reflected the fact they wanted the facility when it would normally be closed. “While the cost of the court would have been roughly similar to last year, opening the centre especially for this group’s use would have meant putting on additional staff, including RMIT staff to manage the facility during its use and the additional hiring of outside security staff to 1am.”
