The best men’s curlers in the world will arrive in Saint John in 2027.

But hosting the Men’s World Curling Championships will bring more than just the top athletes in the sport to the Port City.

Bill Ayles from the Thistle-St. Andrews Curling Club is a vice-chair of the bid committee and said it’s a great opportunity for Saint John and the surrounding region.

“This is a world event,” Ayles said. “There’ll be television crews here highlighting our city from all around the world, not just from Canada.

“It’s going to expose the city to the world.”

Ayles said the event is also a highlight for locals, an opportunity to see the best curlers practice their craft.

“It’s going to expose curling to people that may or may not have been exposed to it, certainly not at that level,” he said.

It’ll be the third time the city hosts a world curling event. Most recently, the Women’s World Curling Championships were in Saint John in 2014.

Prior to that, what was then called Harbour Station hosted both the Men’s and Women’s World Championships in 1999.

Part of that event brought students from local schools to matches during the day to cheer on countries other than Canada and learn a little about curling.

“It’s great to get kids introduced to the game,” Ayles said.

Students got to attend matches in 2014, and Ayles said he believes the same will happen in 2027.

The economic benefits can’t be discounted, either.

Ayles said the economic impact to Saint John could be $10 million or more.

He said it could be even higher because of a change World Curling is making to the tournament in 2027.

Traditionally, this type of event has included 13 teams. But beginning in 2027, five more teams will participate.

Ayles said it’s similar to Canada has done with the Brier and Scotties national championships.

Of course, none of it will be possible without a small army of volunteers to keep the event running smoothly.

Ayles said the organizers will be looking for approximately 325 volunteers.

“I expect we will exceed that,” he said, adding many will come from the city’s two curling clubs, but not exclusively.

“There’s people that want to get involved and want to volunteer even though they’re not a curler,” he said. “The whole city will be involved.”

The 2027 Men’s World Curling Championships will be held at TD Station March 27 to April 4, 2027.