ONE of Wagga's most lucrative sports events isn't going anywhere, with Wagga Council striking a partnership with NSW Touch to hold the Junior State Cup - Southern Conference at Jubilee Park for the next two years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Accommodation price hikes have long been voiced as an area of concern by NSW Touch officials, but Wagga's proven ability to run the event successfully the past three years ensured it retained hosting rights.
Wagga beat strong tenders from Dubbo and Wollongong to keep the event, which attracts around 10,000 players and spectators and injects millions of dollars into the economy.
Next year's edition will be held from February 18-20, and from February 17-19 in 2023. It has been moved forward a week earlier than usual to avoid a clash with Orientation Week, thus making more accommodation available.
The northern conference has been played at Port Macquarie for around three decades, demonstrating NSW Touch's willingness to remain loyal to a city.
"Everything presents really well in Wagga. the venue presents really well, the accessibility in terms of travelling there and when everyone's in town for the event," NSW Touch general manager Dean Russell said.
"The fields are fantastic, the support we get from the local touch association and council is great. The only real knock on the venue is the accommodation issue we've had, and the reason we have flipped weekends (with the northern conference) is to try and alleviate that to some extent.
"Now we've moved it a week forward we'll get a minimum number of beds, hopefully that number can go up. We're talking to council about other options which they're not closed off to.
"You get the unregulated industries like Booking.com and Airbnb's that just go berserk with their prices. But council has been really strong to the accommodation providers in pointing out to them the value of the event to the community, and the danger of trying to make a quick buck compared to playing the long game."
Russell said it wasn't a simple case of rubber stamping Wagga as the incumbent, with Dubbo and Wollongong tabling tempting bids.
IN OTHER NEWS
"The other two had very good tenders and good support systems in place, it wasn't a fait accompli just to go back to Wagga," he said.
"While the accommodation is a problem, there's so many positives. With the size of our events, there aren't too many places around the state who will have a perfect set up, there's a bit of give and take."
He added Wagga's demonstrated ability to run the event under COVID protocols, was a factor.
This year teams played all their games back-to-back in the morning, before leaving the venue for good to allow the other teams to play in the afternoon.
It's a scenario they are considering keeping, given it allowed visitors to partake in other activities in Wagga.
"We worked out there was only three fields you couldn't see if you were outside the venue," Russell said.
"We got some positive feedback because it allowed people to do other things, they weren't at the actual fields all day.
"They'd play games in the morning, then go and do other things around town later in the day. It probably made a bigger economic impact than in previous years"
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters