Porn King gives up RSA fight

Porn king Steve Crow has given up on his drawn-out battle to save the financially troubled New Plymouth RSA.

Crow and his brother, Inglewood builder David Crow, bought the RSA's Strandon property last year for $1.9 million and promised their dying Dad they would do all they could to keep it open.

However, they did not count on resistance by the RSA's executive committee to the changes they wanted to make.

An August court date is now set for both sides to fight over who owes whom money after the RSA took advice from head office and walked out of the clubrooms in February, despite a contract that appeared to commit them to stay, the Taranaki Daily News reported.

The Crows' decision to sell puts an end to their plans for a $20m development of the site but Steve Crow said they had already lost $316,000 and it was time to cut their losses.

"It will always have that stigma on it that, rightly or wrongly, I feel I have let my Dad down but as far as I am concerned I don't want anything to do with the RSA."

RSA spokesman Eric "Tex" Schwass confirmed the clubrooms would be sold but would not comment further.

An official announcement of the plans is expected today.

- NZPA