That could be the case for the newly developed outdoor greens at the Dunedin Lawn Bowls Stadium.
The facility, the dream project of six Dunedin bowls identities based out of the Andersons Bay Club and the lawn bowls stadium itself, has finally come to fruition after years of planning and development.
It will host its inaugural tournament this weekend based on a mixed fours format.
Entries were called about a month ago, and such was the interest in the new development that the full cap of 96 entries was met within an hour of going live.
"Entries exceeded expectation and we would have this number again placed on a waiting list in the hope of a withdrawal," tournament organiser John Latimer said.
"With these new artificial greens working in tandem with the indoor stadium, Dunedin would have to boast one of the best facilities in the country."
Latimer added that recent heavy rain had little to no effect on the artificial turf and that drainage more than met the demands put on it.
"We are quite excited to be able to put this new facility to the test finally after 11 years in the planning.
"We’ve had our ups and downs, but just look at what we have delivered. It will be a real asset for bowls in Dunedin."
Although naming rights have not been attributed to this weekend’s inaugural tournament, it has been met with heavy sponsorship with a generous prize purse.
"We hope to keep this tournament going as a season opener for local and regional bowlers alike.
"With the amount of interest shown in this weekend’s tournament, we can already start looking forward to future tournaments."
Section play gets under way at 8.30am today, progressing to three post-sections of eight teams.
The top eight will play for the major prize pool and, after the first round, will be divided into two sections of four. The losing four play off for a plate final.
The remaining 16 teams in the post-section will be divided into middle and lower sections, and each play straight elimination matches.
The final still start about 1pm tomorrow.
By Wayne Parsons
