Lawrence may not be playing host to the Sunflower State Games anymore, but this weekend will still feature an influx of athletes.

Forty teams are expected for the girls U-14 state Class C softball tournament at Clinton Lake Softball Complex and at YSI. An estimated 600 participants will be here Friday through Sunday.

The U-14 tourney is the first of two state softball championship weekends the Lawrence Sports Corporation, a division of the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau, has secured.

“With the void left by the Games’ departure to Topeka, we felt it was necessary to find events that would continue to bring outside visitors to Lawrence,” said Troy Roberts, executive director of the LSC.

Also coming up later this summer are the Class C-E women’s and Class C men’s slow-pitch tournaments, both on Aug. 3-4 at CLSC.