IRONMAN Santa Rosa: Revving the Economic Engine

For the tourism industry and the local economy, the annual IRONMAN events mean big business. Participating athletes and their cheering squads bring more than a competitive spirit to Sonoma County: Their dollars provide a substantial boost to hospitality businesses, including hotels, restaurants and wineries.

This year’s IRONMAN events could be poised to exceed the $20 million economic windfall it delivered to the city and county last year, according to a newly released report commissioned by the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber.

IRONMAN Santa Rosa has been hosted by Visit Santa Rosa and the City of Santa Rosa for the past two years, as part of a five-year deal that moved the then-named IRONMAN Vineman series from Windsor to Santa Rosa. This year, the full IRONMAN Santa Rosa is set for May 11, while the shorter 70.3 contest is slated for July 27.

According to the third-party reports, the total direct and indirect economic impact of the full IRONMAN is $9.1 million plus another $11 million for the 70.3 event. In 2018, the full IRONMAN drew 1,508 athletes and 3,670 visiting spectators, while the IRONMAN 70.3 attracted 2,486 athletes and 5,971 visiting spectators.

The local economic spillover from the two races far exceeded Santa Rosa Metro Chamber and city officials’ expectations of $13 million in countywide economic activity.

Not surprisingly, the IRONMAN 70.3 event brings more participants and thus more visitors. Last year, each triathlete came to Sonoma County with a group of about 3.4 people on average, according to the economic impact report.

In terms of lodging, the participants and spectators for both events paid for 22,772 overnight room stays. That brought in $2.6 million for area hotels, motels and resorts, another $2.8 million to owners of vacation rental properties and $27,479 for campground stays.

The total for taxes and fees collected for overnight lodging, sales tax, airline passenger facility fees and rental car fees were almost $1.5 million, according to the report.

City of Santa Rosa officials said the economic activity generated by the Ironman events far exceed the cost of hosting the competitions. Planning and economic development officials put the city’s cost of the full Ironman at $140,552, with the biggest expenses being $38,189 for police, fire and public works staff and $30,348 for advertising. The city also pays half of the $125,000 fee for the rights to host the full Ironman in Santa Rosa, while the chamber pays the other half.

The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber contributed another $210,857 toward the full event last year, including $62,500 for its share of the IRONMAN fee, $31,236 for event staffing, $18,734 for athlete bus transportation and $60,952 for traffic control signs.

City officials are still compiling a list of its expenses for the 70.3 IRONMAN event. Thus far, city officials calculated spending of $21,208 for fire, water and public works staff.

“The chamber study shows that our collaboration on events like IRONMAN are broadly beneficial and allow us to maximize our investment in reunifying Courthouse Square,” Santa Rosa City Manager Sean McGlynn said. “These large events provide a boost to city and county businesses, and Ironman in particular gave us a tourism infusion when we needed it most right after the (2017) fires.”

“We asked where they were staying, how many nights, how many rooms, how many people were coming with them,” Race Director, Dave Reid said, adding that the survey tried to target participants’ spending patterns while they were in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa. Reid said the Santa Rosa 70.3 IRONMAN is one of the biggest in the world in terms of triathlete participation. The draw is obvious, he said.

“Sonoma County and Santa Rosa are very special places to race — beautiful,” he said. “There are lots of things for family and athletes to do before the event. … All of the things that make Sonoma County special are on display.”

Peter Rumble, CEO of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, said the full IRONMAN triathlon has become a bucket list race for triathletes. The economic report, he said, is a confirmation of initial perceptions after the first two years of hosting the longer competition.

“IRONMAN is a very positive economic event for Sonoma County. … I certainly wasn’t surprised,” he said. “I was really pleased to see our assumptions confirmed.”