Photo: Castanet

City of Penticton staff are pondering life after Ironman.

In 2019, the major triathlon event signed a five-year agreement with the city to call Penticton home for five years, to great fanfare and excitement about the economic impact it would bring to the region.

Those five years did not go as planned. The 2020 and 2021 iterations were cancelled due to pandemic restrictions.

The August event went forward in 2022, but it was once again cancelled in 2023 due to wildfire travel restrictions.

In 2024, the event proceeded, but the swim portion was cancelled due to cold temperatures in Okanagan Lake.

At that point, Ironman Canada had already announced it would not be coming back.

It is a blow to the city's summer economy. The event, under normal circumstances, filled hotels rooms and saw thousands of visitors flooding the city and spending money at local businesses. Engagement on city social media in August was dominated by Ironman content.

At a year-in-review presentation to Penticton council on Tuesday, the city's sport and event supervisor Jeff Plant spoke about Ironman.

"We're looking ahead to life after Ironman," Plant said.

"The departure of Ironman from Penticton has sparked a lively discussion about what to do next. And there are many factors to be considered. It's not a particularly straightforward question, but we have to answer questions like, do we need to replace Ironman? And if so, with what? How do we weigh the importance of economic impact, branding, vibrancy, etc."

Plant noted that the 2024 Ironman, as well as other signature Penticton summer events, fell short of registration goals, seeing "an approximate 25-30 per cent decrease in registration from previous years."

He also noted that provincial restrictions on short-term rentals were a "factor" in the decision Ironman made not to re-up their contract with Penticton.

Other concerns from tourists in general included worries about wildfire, which were largely not an issue in the South Okanagan this year.

Plant said the question now is what, if anything, to replace the event with.

"Do we have an expectation of return on investment? Are we willing to pay for a branded event? Do we seek to host one signature event, or were you better off investing in multiple smaller events? [Are we] looking for an annual recurring event? Or do we want to attract the new and exciting event each year?" Plant said.

That will be an ongoing discussion. Staff will be gathering feedback from organizers, stakeholders and community groups to bring recommendations forward to council at a later date.