Masterton's new all-weather athletics track is a winner even before the rubberised surface is laid.
Hopes the eight-lane facility at the Colin Pugh Sports Bowl, which could be in use by the end of next month, would attract major events on the national athletics calendar have already come to fruition.
Booked in for January next year are the New Zealand Inter-provincial Championships for the 14 and 15-year-old age groups and there is every chance the 2012 North Island Secondary Schools Championships, to be held in March, could be confirmed in the next few weeks.
Both events would not only give the Wairarapa sporting fraternity the opportunity to see many of the country's most promising track and field prospects but would also guarantee the region large numbers of visitors.
"The spinoffs from meets like this will be huge. It's a win-win for everybody," WRATT (Wairarapa Regional All-Weather Track Trust) spokesman Mark Harris said yesterday. "And that's why we are going to be very proactive in chasing the bigger events; the more we can get, the better for the whole community."