There’s excitement in the Lautoka business sector as they await the Punjas Battle of the Giants (BOG) 2022 tournament next week and the economic benefits it would bring.
The tournament will begin on August 26-28 while semi-finals and finals will be on September 3-4 at Churchill Park.
Lautoka City Council chief executive officer Mohammed Anees Khan said most of the maintenance and upgrade works were carried out in preparation for the Fijian Drua game earlier in May.
“For the BOG tournament, we have the facilities in top-notch condition, some minor touchups and tidying up are needed though,” Mr Khan said.
“District team supporters are expected to converge in numbers to the City of Lautoka. There is a good hype of excitement amongst the retailers and businesses in general.”
Mr Khan was yet to confirm whether stall space allocations had been made.
Lautoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pyara Singh said all food, retail and transport sectors would benefit from the influx of supporters travelling to Lautoka to watch the Punjas BOG 2022.
“Every day there would be more than 10,000 people in Lautoka to watch the games, a lot of overseas people will come and also see the new floodlights because an allocation was given to upgrade that in the budget
He said more large-scale tournaments could be held in Lautoka.
“Churchill park grounds and tracks are one of the best in the South Pacific, not only in Fiji. Lautoka Chamber of Commerce welcomes the BOG tournament in Lautoka and also thanks the Fiji Football Association and also the sponsors Punja & Sons for making this possible,” he said.
Lautoka Residents and Ratepayers Association president Narayan Reddy said the tournament was a much-needed boost to the business sector.
“A lot of people will buy from the food stalls and I am sure a lot of vendors will benefit and also people will also be accommodated at the hotels. For vendors and business houses selling merchandise, they need to make the most of it,” he said.
Meanwhile ticket presales for the Punjas BOG 2022 will go on sale from Monday, August 22.
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