It's official!
Penticton City Council has voted in favour of a staff recommendation to negotiate a five-year agreement to once again host IRONMAN Canada. If successful, the world-class triathlon would return from 2020 through to 2024.The vote was unanimous.
Councillor Julius Bloomfield says, "As a past competitor, twice, I'm delighted at the prospect of bringing Ironman back. When I first heard of this I said, bringing Ironman back to Penticton is like a divorced couple getting back together again. They have to remember what drove them apart in the first place."
Bloomfield says both sides have issues to address before a deal can be finalized.
If successful, Penticton expects ten thousand people plus, between athletes, families and support teams in the first year alone. The economic impact is hard to predict, but at one time, Ironman brought more than 12 million dollars a year into the local economy.