CdA Chamber of Commerce committed to Ironman

Ironman will carry on in Coeur d’Alene the next three years and likely beyond that with a new push to raise money for the sponsorship fee.

The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce said last fall it was evaluating whether to continue its sponsorship of the race, which has been held in the Lake City each summer since 2003. The chamber pays the World Triathlon Corp. nearly $100,000 a year to bring Ironman to town – a figure that has been difficult to cover in recent years.

On Tuesday, chamber President and CEO Steve Wilson said the organization has heard strong community and business support for continuing the commitment to Ironman, and the chamber board has decided to complete the current five-year contract, through 2017.

Keats McGonigal, West Coast operations manager for Ironman, said the organization is thrilled by the chamber’s decision.

“We’re obviously very excited about the race in Coeur d’Alene,” McGonigal said Tuesday. “We have been for a lot of years.”

Wilson said the chamber hopes it will be able to sign another contract through 2022, as long as community support and financial contributions are maintained.

The chamber recently surveyed its members, asking if it should keep subsidizing the triathlon and, if so, how much members would be willing to donate for the sponsorship. The response was 72 percent in favor of continuing the race or unsure, and 28 percent saying no. Many who supported it indicated they’d chip in $100 to $500, Wilson said, and most of them are small businesses that haven’t previously contributed.

The chamber will establish a dedicated bank account for sponsorship donations, separating it from its general fund, he said.

An expanded committee to raise funds for the race is headed by Teri Runge Nipp, a Coeur d’Alene businesswoman who was instrumental in bringing Ironman to Coeur d’Alene more than a decade ago.

“I’m ecstatic,” Nipp said Tuesday. “I’m just so happy that the community has embraced it and is still willing to do whatever it takes to keep it here. I know financially it’s definitely a burden to keep the event here, but the community has spoken.”

People also have stepped forward with new ideas for tapping community support, Wilson said.

“Some of them may produce some fun and unique events that create some fundraising opportunities as well,” he said.

The chamber, the Coeur d’Alene Downtown Association and the Coeur d’Alene Resort also are working with the World Triathlon Corp., based in Tampa, Florida, on a new race setup schedule that will keep Sherman Avenue open to traffic the Thursday and Friday before the Sunday race to benefit businesses. Ironman agreed to move the kids triathlon to Saturday and hold the race in McEuen Park to lessen the disruption to downtown traffic.

About 2,300 athletes converge on the city in late June for the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. They bring family and friends with them, filling hotels for the weekend and ringing up sales at restaurants and shops.

Ironman brings an estimated economic benefit of $7 million to $8 million to the region, the chamber says.

The chamber and World Triathlon Corp. will begin talks about the next five-year contract after the 2016 race. Wilson said he hopes the sponsorship fee will stay about the same moving forward.

“I’m hopeful that it stays relatively similar just because we have struggled to meet this obligation a little bit,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of wiggle room. They seem to understand that.”