"Epic" is how Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg described the 2025 Masters Games held over three days from last Friday and ending with finals on Sunday.

Lismore City Council estimated that this year's event injected $5.4 million into the local economy when nearly 1,200 people took part in eight sports, including netball, softball, baseball, Oztag and lawn bowls. This was the largest number of participant in Lismore Masters Games history.

The reason for the $5.4 million boost to the local economy?

"Over 50% of those participants didn't come from the Lismore LGA, and a quarter of them came from across the border, said Mayor Krieg, "So it was an absolutely epic weekend of sport across Lismore, and really good to see. All of our accommodation was full. Cafes and restaurants and pubs were booked out, and sadly, accident and emergency got a fair workout as well, with a few of the Masters getting a few injuries, but that's to be expected.

"Not only that, it's the families and the kids that they bring along with them. So that 600 participants from outside the Lismore LGA, you could easily double, if not triple. So you're talking about upwards of two, two and a half thousand people that converge on the Lismore CBD.

"It was such a good time to be in Lismore. We're standing here at Crozier Oval, which has never looked better. All of the fields were just amazing, and there wasn't a drop of rain to be seen. It's the first time in a long time that we've had a dry Masters Games weekend."

As Mayor Krieg said, the Masters Games are not really about the results but about the camaraderie among all the participants.

"There's an Oztag team by the name of the Muppets, who have been mates in school that come together every two years to put an Oztag team together specifically for the Lismore Masters. It's the only time they see each other in that two-year period. Good luck to everyone who won, but for me, to see the social aspect of it, to see not only the Lismore community come together, but people came from the Central Coast and Newcastle, I was speaking to people from South East Queensland, they all come together, and sport is the vehicle to bring these individuals together, which is really pleasing for me."

The mayor mentioned that the quality of the facilities, now that Lismore's sporting homes have been successfully renovated, and the new Skateboarding precinct is built, was noticed by the participants this year, and there will be further opportunities as the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games get closer.

"We're working very closely with the uni. We supported their application to get the synthetic athletics facility at the university. That's something that council was heavily involved in. We see Lismore as the perfect training venue for overseas teams to come and use.

"When you think we've got the Memorial Baths, an Olympic standard 50 metre swimming pool. We've got Albert Park, which is baseball and softball, which are Olympic sports. We've now got an Olympic-quality skate facility in town, plus Oakes and Crozier and synthetic hockey. We've got synthetic soccer over at the university as well. We are really well set up to host these teams.

"As a joint organisation with the seven LGAs, we're looking at different sports that we can all host together. Clearly, we don't have rowing or surfing in Lismore, but Ballina and Byron may be able to host those sorts of things. Kyogle have suggested mountain biking and different events there for them. So it's certainly well and truly on our radar.

"And we're preparing prospectuses as we speak, to be able to distribute to any sporting team that wants to use Lismore as a base. We met with an NRL team last week about holding their pre-season camp here. We're in discussions with A-League teams. The Newcastle Jets were here in August with the Brisbane Roar, making that potentially an annual event. We are working very diligently behind the scenes to generate the level of income, the level of interest in Lismore that we think it deserves."

"Obviously, it was a great shot in the arm with the amount of visitors and players and everything turning out over the last couple of days. And it leads into a big summer of sporting activities. Clearly, one of the biggest economic drivers for Lismore, believe it or not, is the state's Under-12 cricket tournament in January. But before that, we've got the national Marist Brothers tournament for cricket that is coming to Lismore as well. That's a national tournament with the Catholic schools in December.

"We are already starting to prepare all of our cricket facilities for two pretty big events, let alone what happens on a weekend with our weekend warrior sports people as well. So, I'm looking forward to an exciting summer of sport."