Muncie will again be hosting IronMan triathlon competitions for the next few years.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, the city’s mayor says despite years of hosting, he’s signing the city’s first agreement with the organization.

Though Muncie has hosted IronMan events for four decades, Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour told the Muncie Board of Works that this is the first official agreement.

“Muncie was the only city in all of the IronMan events that did not have a signed agreement.  So, IronMan could have stopped, at any time, coming to Muncie.  And we just didn’t want that to happen.”

On IronMan’s online list of races, Muncie’s competition at Prairie Creek Reservoir is scheduled for October 1, 2022.  The mayor says the city will also host in 2023 and 2024.

Ridenour, who competed in a Muncie IronMan competition last year and will be part of a relay team this year, has touted the event’s economic benefit to Muncie.  Last October, Muncie hosted two competitions – the half and full events.  They brought more than 3,500 athletes to the city.  And, according to a report by the Horizon Convention Center, the IronMan weekend brought in $4.092 million for the city.

“So we obviously want that to continue for our restaurants, our hotels, our stores.  Everybody was packed.”

But for the next three years, IronMan will only be running one competition in Muncie, not two.

When asked if any city money was used to secure the hosting spots, the mayor said, “The agreement says we can’t do anything without [IronMan’s] permission, we can’t release any information without their permission.  And we’re still waiting on that.”

Ridenour says the IronMan official who can give approval is traveling right now.