TAMPA, Fla. — IRONMAN announced four finalists as potential hosts of the new IRONMAN triathlon in 2020: Des Moines, Iowa; Fayetteville, Ark.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Tulsa, Okla. The new event will be the first new, full-distance IRONMAN triathlon in the U.S. since 2014.
IRONMAN representatives are visiting the four cities and the organization is expected to announce the new host city by mid-June.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to bring an IRONMAN event to the central United States,” said Shane Facteau, COO of IRONMAN, in a recent press announcement. “We have been looking into this particular area of the country for a while now and felt the time is right to add a brand-new full-distance IRONMAN triathlon to the U.S. Series.”
IRONMAN host communities estimate $10 million in direct economic impact on the local economy, with a total of $13 million of indirect and induced impacts, and hotel room night counts upward of 12,000 from athletes staying an average of three to four nights in the destination.
The IRONMAN Triathlon Series is a full-distance marathon with athletes swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles in the single-day endurance race.
For more information, visit www.ironman.com
