Lions fans another nightmare for Tauranga flood victims

Tauranga flood victims forced into hotels and motels may have to give up their rooms for Lions fans.

Members of the Barmy Army will be among the hundreds of visitors expected in the city for Queen's Birthday Weekend, when the first game of the rugby tour will be played.

Some will use Tauranga as a base to watch the first game in Rotorua on June 4. Motel Association district president Ian Calvert said accommodation in Tauranga for the holiday weekend was "extremely tight".

He said people with bookings, even if they were Lions fans, had priority over flood victims.

"It's a first-come, first-served basis. You can't distinguish between one or the other."

But the association would endeavour to help the 98 people still out of their homes. Tauranga District Council spokeswoman Elizabeth Hughes said none of the city's 49 motels or two hotels had offered to cancel bookings to allow evacuees to stay. "Wouldn't it be nice if they did?"

* The Lions are due at Auckland Airport around midday tomorrow on flight QF163.