The Albion Cricket Club has run a non-profit six-a-side social cricket competition based at the Wanaka Showgrounds for the past decade.
Mr Allison organises the weekly evening summer competition to raise funds for Wanaka's sole cricket club.
A "surprise" $1000 bill arrived in his letterbox from the council-controlled organisation Lakes Leisure Ltd.
The hefty bill to use the ratepayer-owned Wanaka Showgrounds and Pembroke Park threatened to skittle the popular social competition, Mr Allison said.
QLDC community services and parks manager Paul Wilson said the bill was to recover a portion of council's costs spent on sports fields around the district.
The QLDC had spent an extra $250,000 on sports turf [grass] for 26 grounds and has had a "cost recovery" model in place for the past six years.
"I presume these business-type sports leagues are set up to make a profit," he said.
When informed the Wanaka competition was a non-profit competition, with all funds going back into the community, Mr Wilson said the bill was a small proportion of what it cost the council to maintain the sports fields.
"The ratepayers are not there to subsidise cricket players," he said.
Social cricket organisers are not the the only Wanaka sport to be hit for six.
Social touch rugby organiser Nathan Simon also received a $600 bill for grounds use.
Mr Allison said proceeds from social cricket went towards travel costs for the 15 junior to senior level Albion club teams in the Central Otago cricket competition.
Thirty teams (22 male, 8 female) had taken place in the six-a-side competition last year, raising about $4500.
After costs for raffle prizes, player of the day awards, and equipment (four to six dozen cricket balls), about $2000 was left to help cover the club's transport costs, he said.
"We've never made a killing from the competition and now the council wants to take away half. It's just not cricket," he said.
