FUNDS set aside to kick off the canned NRL clash at Scully Park will go back into Tamworth Regional Council's hip pocket.
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Councillors voted to sponsor the Wests Tigers versus Canberra Raiders game set for May to the tune of $20,000, but COVID-19 restrictions forced its cancellation.
Instead, the money will sit within the confines of the council and the sponsorship for host Wests Tamworth Leagues Club will be revisited next year, Tamworth mayor Col Murray said.
"With the costs that we've incurred since the COVID-19 outbreak with no revenue from venues, it will eat that up ten times," he said.
"So it will be absorbed into the general council budget."
With added pressure on budgets, the council staff are in the process of forecasting its ability to financially support events next year.
It's hard to pinpoint until the end of the financial year in June, Cr Murray said.
"We'll have some figures by the end of August on how things are looking this year," he said.
"Council will have to consider how we might take up the opportunity to provide stimulus for the economy.
"It's certainly on the radar, our financiers are looking at doing modelling to predict what capacity we will have to do stuff, and whether the council will consider additional stimulus for events to get the economy up and running again."
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The council had also voted to support the Super Rugby in Tamworth for the first time with $10,000.
That money will be returned to the budget with the cancellation of most sporting events.