North Village could find themselves in hot water over the sale of alcohol at their adopted Bernard Park playing field.

While the club has sought permission and on occasions sold alcoholic beverages at the Pembroke ground, it has been the mandate of the Department of Youth Development, Sport and Recreation that they refrain from doing so.

Youth and Sport Director Brenton Roberts this week expressed surprise on learning that "forbidden'' spirits were being peddled on the Government-owned land, saying that the Department had only granted them use of the facility with the agreement that no such activity would be permitted.

"In the case of North Village, they indicated in their initial presentation that they had a club on North Shore and if we gave them use of Bernard Park they would not require the sale of alcohol,'' said Roberts while noting that the situation would be investigated.

"I can tell you that there is something in the agreement that North Village have with us pertaining to the sale of alcohol and if this is going on we would have to review the whole arrangement.

"At Bernard Park the history has been and is that no liquor can be sold and that is something adhered to by all the tenants -- softball, netball, volleyball, tennis -- and we can't have North Village setting a precedent.'' However, Village president Wendell Lindsay, while admitting that there had been some objections raised by the Department, differed in his perception of the agreement, saying there was no wording to the extent that alcoholic beverages could not be sold or consumed at the field.

And the recent Labour Day festival at the other side of the park where liquor was openly distributed from a makeshift stall, in the presence of the Premier no less, appeared to support Lindsay's claim.

"There is pressure being put on us (to stop the sale), but we have not been in violation of anything appearing in the basic agreement,'' said Lindsay, whose club has been one of the more active in providing community activities, with Bernard Park the hub for most of these.

"We've scheduled a meeting with Youth and Sport in hopes of coming to a happy medium.'' He noted how they had successfully lobbied the Liquor Licensing Board for permission to sell alcohol at a recent reggae concert featuring several Jamaican artists and that they had again applied for an exemption in anticipation of Sunday's First Division match against Devonshire Colts.

Ironically, Colts likewise play on Government-owned Frog Lane Field and have willingly abstained from using alcohol as a source of revenue at fixtures, a move which Roberts applauded.

"One has to put the whole thing in perspective that we're talking about Government-owned fields,'' said Roberts, noting that the situation had nothing to do with the recent Board of Inquiry that recommended clubs consider an experimental ban on liquor sales.

"The reason why these two clubs that don't have fields were granted such was because they have solid junior programmes and it was felt deeply that they should have a place to train and play.

"The factor of alcohol was something that the clubs themselves put to us as part of their presentation document, specifically that they would not sell alcohol at events and that's what impressed us along with the fact that they are helping to foster development among the youth. North Village said categorically `we don't need to sell alcohol there as we have a club'.'' Still, Lindsay was adamant that his club were sticking to the letter of the agreement and further asserted it was unfair to deny clubs a much-needed source of income.

He added that to forbid would simply encourage the `import' of such beverages to the ground, creating increased pressure on those charged with policing the grounds and in the long run might hinder the ability of the club to survive.

"We're taking a wait and see approach, but if you ask, can we survive without it? Not without some other form of cash infusion... maybe a Government grant,'' said Lindsay, who noted how clubs were not in support of the recommendation from the Board of Inquiry as some recent reports might have indicated.

"You can't expect clubs to give up a major source of revenue and not replace it, that's ludicrous.'' Roberts indicated the Department would be firm in their stance, adding that they would continue to object to any application for a licence and in fact could arbitrarily order that the sale of alcohol be discontinued.

He stopped short, however, of indicating possible repercussions, saying that they would rather make an attempt at sorting out matters amicably than wave a swift sword.

BRENTON ROBERTS -- `we can't have Village setting a precedent.'