The impact of Ironman

Businesses applaud hike in sales during inaugural event

COEUR d'ALENE — The direct impact Sunday's inaugural half-Ironman triathlon had on businesses depends on who you ask, but merchants agree that anytime foot traffic increases, that benefits all sectors.

Jeff Messinger, general manager for Tito's Italian Grill and Wine Shop and Unchained Tap House, said business at Tito's slightly surpassed that of last year's weekend with the full Ironman, which is a positive indicator considering the differences in time for racers to complete the events.

"The regular (full) Ironman gives attendees the opportunity to spend the whole day to wine and dine," Messinger said. "If this would have been a regular Ironman, we would have crushed (sales on previous years). It will be interesting to see what we do in August (during the full Ironman)."

For the month of June, Tito's has had a 20 percent increase over this month last year, and Messinger attributes a lot of that to the success during the half-Ironman last weekend.

Messinger said he believes this past weekend will be the second-busiest for the business this year — only behind the full Ironman on Aug. 21.

He said last weekend's mild, sunny weather was also a boost that brought out more fans than a rainy day like Friday would have.

"Coeur d'Alene was the gem that everybody was looking for," he said.

Restaurants seem to perform particularly well on Ironman weekends, as Schmidty's Burgers had about twice as much business as it normally does on Sundays during the summer, employee Jesse Addington said.

Fellow employee Steve Kopelman said it got really busy during both peak lunch and dinner times.

"Anytime you have an event like this, it's great for business," Kopelman said, adding getting to the downtown area was also surprisingly easy on Sunday.

But not all businesses had an increase in sales.

Ilene Moss, owner of All Things Irish, said sales there were actually down more than half from the previous weekend.

"Typically, Ironman is not a big weekend for retail," she said. "It's not a very desirable time for people to be shopping downtown. People are here for the event, and that is the focus."

Moss said Ironman is a great event for the community overall, however.

"From a marketing standpoint, Ironman does a world of good for us," she said. "People love to participate here and that word gets out."

Blair Williams, an employee at The Art Spirit Gallery, said business didn't see a spike in sales over the weekend, but took advantage of the visitors who remained in the city on Monday to open at 8 a.m. rather than 11 a.m.

"Saturday we were slammed in a wonderful way all day," she said, adding most folks were focused on the race on Sunday. "The families were so friendly and curious and impressed about Coeur d'Alene. A lot of them said that they live in larger areas, and they don't have anything like this in their area. That's always nice to hear."

Jill Buckland, manager of Mountain Madness Soap Co., said there was a slight increase in sales over the weekend compared to most summer weekends. She said the days following the race are typically the times Ironfolk have time to browse, and she noticed such a scenario early Monday afternoon.

"On race day everybody is following their loved once and tracking racers," she said. "But, overall, it's a positive contribution to the business community. It certainly doesn't hurt business."

Tyson Juarez, marketing department manager at Pilgrim's Market, a natural and organic food store, said nutritional items, energy gels and supplements were hot sellers over the weekend.

He said Friday and Saturday — the days leading up to the race — were particularly busy.

"We saw a lot of new faces those days," he said.

Racewise, D.J. Rausa, a San Diego man who competed in his sixth half-Ironman, gave the course and community a thumbs-up.

"I'll be back," the Navy veteran said while viewing the Veterans Memorial in McEuen Park on Monday. "This, by far, was the toughest course I've done. The weather was perfect. The volunteers were off the charts and very supportive, so that's a testament to the charm of the city."

The city signed a five-year contract with Ironman to host the half-Ironman on the last weekend in June and the full Ironman on the last weekend in August through 2020. This will be the only year the full Ironman will be held during the third weekend in August; every year after it will be on the fourth weekend.

The Spokane Regional Sports Commission released an economic and media impact study on the full Ironman in 2011, stating the average numbers of outside visitors — athletes, fans and event management staff requiring an overnight stay — is 4,300. People stay an average of six days and spend an average of $227 each day. The direct tourism economic impact was found to be $7.6 million.

Connie Smith, who lives in downtown Coeur d'Alene, said the nice weather and the excitement surrounding the race over the weekend added to the already-vibrant summer atmosphere in Coeur d'Alene. But she admits it's also nice to return to "life as usual" after the big event.

"Busyness is great for business and it's always great to share our story with others," she said while walking in McEuen Park on Monday. "But having some downtime just before the next one (Fourth of July festivities) is nice, too."