RESIDENTS of Dubbo will need to be on their best behaviour this weekend as an influx of police arrive in town for.... an indoor cricket competition.
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Thirty teams from all parts of NSW will converge on Dubbo Sportsworld from Friday for the NSW Police Indoor Cricket State Championships, which is the first major event to be held on the revamped flooring at the complex.
An immense amount of community support made the renovations possible and it was those upgrades that attracted organisers of this weekend's tournament.
"The police have usually played this in Coffs Harbour but this year they've elected to bring it to Dubbo and we're thrilled that they have," Dubbo Sportsworld's Greg King said.
"This is the first of a few major events we have coming up here. We have the Country Cyclones playing ACT the following weekend, we have the Cricket Australia national Junior Championships from July 2-11, as well as rounds of the Big Blast Indoor (BBI) series in July and finals in September."
Attracting these major events is a boost not only for Sportsworld, but also for the city as a whole.
Accommodation, food, petrol and other retail outlets will all benefit from the influx of visitors over the next few months.
"We valued the renovations at $100,000 but we estimate that from all of the events coming to town it's probably worth $1 million to the local economy.
"That's why we had so much support from businesses around town. We couldn't afford to do it but with money donations and in-kind donations, as well as some free labour, we got it done while we were closed over Christmas and we will start reaping the rewards this weekend.
"The businesses that helped us were Orana Mutual, Inflatable World, Grassman and Indoor Sports Maintenance Services, Regional Auto Supplies, Carpet One, Tilepower, Countryman Motor Inn, Coates Hire, Macquarie Inn, Orana Flood Sanding and Coady's Auto Repairs. Without what they gave us, it wouldn't have happened."
This weekend's event gives the members of the police force a chance to meet their counterparts from other regions and get to relax and play some sport in what is bound to be, by competition's end, a competitive environment.
Games will commence from 9am on Friday and more than likely play throughout the day with an early start again on Saturday.