Councilors want specifics on triathlon's cost to city

LACONIA — The City Council is expected to take up later this month a request that the city be the host site for the finale of a triathlon this summer, and could at that time make a decision whether to enter an agreement with the event’s organizers.

At Monday’s council meeting the board reviewed a prospectus put together by the Ironman Group which operates the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Series, and some councilors questioned what services the city might be expected to provide.

Those services included police and emergency medical services, use of city-owned facilities, and hotel rooms, for the event which has been tentatively scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 21-22.

The ability to hold the event would depend on the status of the coronavirus pandemic and the level of COVID restrictions that might still be in force at the time.

Audra Tassone-Indeck, a regional director for the Ironman Group, acknowledged the prospectus contained “a lot of asks,” but she told the councilors a host city can pick and choose what services they are willing to provide.

Councilors voiced concerns over what the costs to the city would be.

“It would be tough for Laconia to come up with this,” said Councilor Bob Hamel. “I need to see something very specific. It’s going to be a lean budget as it is,” he continued. “ I don’t see how we can come up with this,” he said referring to the services enumerated in the organization’s list of particulars.

Tassone-Indect told the council that the more comprehensive list of services was intended for larger host communities. Some localities contribute $10,000, she said, while others contribute up to $1 million.

Mayor Andrew Hosmer agreed that details need to be worked out. He said he hoped Tassone-Indeck and city officials could hammer out specifics this week and that the council would be ready to vote on the proposal at its next scheduled meeting on Jan. 25.

The event would begin in Gilford, go to Loudon, and end in Laconia, with the finish line at Opechee Park.

When the idea of bringing the triathlon back to the area was first presented to the council in December, City Manager Scott Myers said the event would be a “huge economic draw” for the city. He further said the planning would include exploring the possibility of public-private partnerships that could help defray the costs of traffic control, police and EMS services “so the whole burden would not fall on the taxpayers.”

The area hosted its first triathlon in 2001. The event continued to be held every year until 2017, when Ironman Triathlon moved the event to Old Orchard Beach, Maine. That triathlon already has a full roster of competitors for this year, and Tassone-Indeck said because of that she expects an Ironman event in the Lakes Region could attract upward of 2,000 competitors.