Rooms for race nights

COEUR d'ALENE - If the allure of being in the presence of lightning-fast boats throwing fountains of spray as they skirt across the surface of Lake Coeur d'Alene proves to be as powerful as it was 50 years ago, there may be a lot of hydroplane spectators looking for a place to spend the night in Coeur d'Alene this Labor Day weekend.

But organizers of the Diamond Cup Regatta, returning to the Lake City after a 45-year absence, aren't worried about where to put all those boat race fans.

"We'll float them on the lake," joked Doug Miller, chairman of the Diamond Cup board. "If they can fit 104,000 around a football field for the Rose Bowl, we can float 100,000 on Lake Coeur d'Alene."

Turning serious, Miller said organizers aren't expecting the monster-size crowds that showed up in 1963 and 1964, at the height of the hydro races' first heyday in Coeur d'Alene.

"Between what was reported in the Spokesman-Review, the Chronicle and the Coeur d'Alene Press, estimates were between 110,000 and 120,000 people were at the races back then. Those were accumulated over the three days of the weekend," he said.

They don't know for sure what to expect now in Coeur d'Alene, decades later, so organizers are looking at data from the Columbia Cup Unlimited Hydroplane Race event, in its 48th year and taking place next weekend in Kennewick, Wash.

Miller said the Tri-Cities race attracts more than 110,000 people, and roughly 70 percent of those spectators are from the Spokane area.

"If those numbers hold true for us, the advantage is that people can go home and sleep in their own beds," Miller said. "We would be extremely happy if we drew 30,000 to 40,000 people over the three-day weekend."

Ticket sales are around 12,000 so far, Miller said.

"But typically with boat racing, they're not a strong advance-purchase crowd. They tend to buy tickets on race day," he said.

Even with Diamond Cup organizers' most conservative estimates, attendance at the Labor Day weekend boat races will dwarf the crowds that show up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

Coeur d'Alene Convention and Visitor Bureau Manager Katherine Coppock said her office tabulates the triathlon's human draw by counting the 3,000 athletes, and adding three additional people per triathlete. Add in 2,000 volunteers and the Ironman organization's 100 staff members, and you have 14,100 visitors to Coeur d'Alene for the popular, multi-sport endurance race that takes place each June.

Polling shows, Coppock said, that there are 2,500 hotel rooms in the Coeur d'Alene area. That doesn't include lodging available in Post Falls, Hayden or across the state line.

"Spokane has a very high number of hotels," Coppock said.

And there are other lodging options, she said, like bed and breakfasts and campgrounds.

"I know that private lodging is becoming more and more popular as well," she said, referring to the ever-growing number of vacation home rentals in the area.

Calls to several Coeur d'Alene hotels Friday revealed rooms are available for Labor Day weekend, but many are already booked.

Steve Wilson, president and CEO of the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce, said he thinks the hydroplane races will make the last weekend of the summer vacation season more lucrative for Coeur d'Alene hotels.

Based on his own experience as a hotel manager in the Lake City, Wilson said Labor Day weekend room occupancy tends to be lighter than it is during other weekends in the summer.

"Particularly that Sunday night. It's good occupancy, but it's not as solidly booked, not like the Fourth of July. That's always a solid three-day weekend," Wilson said. "Hopefully, because of the hydroplanes, Labor Day weekend will be a solid thing for our hotels."

The Diamond Cup H1 Unlimited event runs Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 and will feature sanctioned races as well as exhibition runs. The race course will be in the waters off Silver Beach.

Parking will be available at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds for $10 on Friday, the day of free exhibitions, and included in ticket prices on race days. Shuttles will take spectators from the fairgrounds to Silver Beach.

Tickets and info: www.diamondcuprace.com