Agreement brings triathlons to Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA | Tuscaloosa will play host to four major triathlon events during the next four years.

Mayor Walt Maddox announced Tuesday that he signed an agreement that will bring the USA Triathlon Elite National Championship to Tuscaloosa in 2009 and 2010. The Collegiate National Championships will come to Tuscaloosa in 2011 and 2012.

'The economic impact will be $2 million to $4 million for an ‘Elite' triathlon,' Maddox said. 'A collegiate championship can bring in $3 million to $5 million. They will ensure that our hotel rooms will be full, there will be people eating in our restaurants, and it will help our local economy.'

The Elite National Championships will bring 500-1,000 participants, plus another 500-1,000 support staff and fans to town, Maddox said. The Collegiate Championships will bring about 1,500 participants and 1,000 fans and support staff.

A triathlon is a three-part race that includes distance running, bicycling and swimming.

Last year, the city hosted the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Trials and the U.S. Collegiate Championships. The events went smoothly and both the city and the sanctioning organizations considered them a success, Maddox said.

'We spent years trying to attract conventions with 500 to 1,000 participants,' Maddox said. 'We couldn't bring them because we didn't have the convention space. With the triathlons, our convention space is our streets and the Black Warrior River.'

Maddox said he hopes the city can again attract the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012, hosting both it and the Collegiate National Championships in the same year.

The city's experience in hosting major sporting events, like University of Alabama football and basketball games, helped the city stage the triathlon events, Maddox said.

'The difference has been the cooperation and ingenuity of the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation, Tuscaloosa Environmental Services, the Tuscaloosa Police Department and the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service,' Maddox said. 'USAT appreciated our cooperation and attention to detail.'

And the triathlon events didn't cost the city much in overtime.

'It costs very little to host these events,' Maddox said.