Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Officials encouraged by St. George Ironman's impact on community

The final numbers haven’t been tallied, but local officials were feeling good Monday about how the area fared during the weekend’s national championship half-Ironman triathlon. The Ironman 70.3 St. George was the fourth annual Ironman event held in St. George, but the first since transitioning to a half distance from the full-length version held the previous three years. This year, the shorter race sold out all 2,500 spots, with 2,685 people in all registering by race day.

Economically, officials are also hoping for big things from the event. The convention and tourism bureau anticipated $5 million to $6 million in direct economic impact, along with another $2 million from athletes coming to the area to train for the race or visit later. In addition, more than 1,000 Utah triathletes competed this year, compared to about 300 last year, potentially spelling more visitors, more spending and more economic impact.The Spectrum