An abiding thread in the history of VP Hall is the manner in which it was a venue for sports of various kinds. From the narrative of Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar (see pages 6&7) we note that the Cycles Club was a tenant here towards the end of the 19th century. Though the history of that short-lived body is not available, we can assume it comprised cycling enthusiasts.
The Suguna Vilasa Sabha itself promoted sports. The billiards table here was very famous. At a time when the Madras and the Madras Cricket clubs were whites only and were the only other social bodies to boast of such a facility, it was the SVS at VP Hall that promoted the sport among Indians. The first reference to billiards at MCC is in March 1907 and this is quite late for we find that the SVS had a billiards room, situated inside VP Hall by then. The Madras Presidency Billiards League was established here organised by the South Indian Athletic Association. In this event, the billiards markers of the Madras Club, the MCC, the Gymkhana, the Madras United Cricket Club (MUC), the Suguna Vilasa Sabha, the Cosmopolitan Club and also those employed in the various hotels of the city participated.
Tennis was well-known at VP Hall. There were tennis courts on one side of the building and together with the courts at the MUC and the Cosmopolitan, did much to promote interest in the sport among Indians. Photographs from the 1920s reveal victorious teams seated at the rear of VP Hall, thereby indicating that it was a venue for competitions.
The South Indian Athletic Association (SIAA), which historic body has all but vanished from public memory now, for more than a 100 years promoted interest in track events in the city, as also boxing. The SIAA, which operated for years from its leased premises on People’s Park, moved into VP Hall after the SVS left and made it the home for sports of various kinds. In the 1930s, though it is not clear if it was indeed under the auspices of the SIAA, VP Hall was the venue for a demonstration of table tennis. Thereafter, right until the 1980s, VP Hall was where numerous TT tournaments took place.
The SIAA also organised the Park Town Annual Fair for years in People’s Park. It was begun in 1878 by the Corporation but in later years the SIAA took it over. Track and field events were organised surrounding VP Hall each year during Christmas week. Apart from athletics, there were rekla races and exhibition boxing matches. It was during this fair that Gun Boat Jack displayed his daredevilry on a motorcycle inside a wooden enclosure. And the North Madras boxing champions made the venue their own. The gradual taking over of the People’s Park land by various buildings and the construction of the indoor stadium eventually led to the Park Town Fair itself being abandoned. The vanishing of the SIAA was a natural corollary, and the stuff of tragedy.
VP Hall was then rented by the Chennapuri Andhra Mahasabha (CAM). It eventually came to build its own premises on VP Hall land, apart from occupying the ground floor. This body, founded in 1916 by Sir Pitty Theyagaroya Chetty as a social association for Telugu-speaking people in the city, expressly included the promotion of sports among its goals. Though its role in the later history of VP Hall is not very edifying, there is no doubt that as far as sports were concerned it did much. Carrom, chess and billiards were its forte, and under its auspices, many chess tournaments were held at VP Hall which went a long way in establishing Chennai as a chess capital.
VP Hall, as renovated and restored now, may not be a centre for sports any longer. But then, the city itself has plenty of other public facilities now for the promotion of sports. VP Hall therefore will not be required to play such a role. But its role in making sure that the citizens of Madras came to appreciate sports of various kinds is undeniable and in that aspect too it proved that it lived up to its name as the city’s town hall – a space that was the public’s own.