Communities to discuss if IRONMAN triathlon could return next year

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Thousands showed up for the IRONMAN 70.3 Western Massachusetts on Sunday. Athletes from here and even other states participated in the triathlon, which caused heavy traffic delays.

West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt told Western Mass News that warnings about the potential crowds and traffic went out to the community ahead of time.

“I think a lot of people maybe didn’t take it as seriously that there were going to be significant delays,” he said. “And while there were no closures, there were some on the west side, I think that was the way. It wasn’t planned that way, but the way it worked out with the way riders were coming out, they kind of changing it up last minute.”

At Riverfront Park, the barricades, street markings, and even the buoys that were in the water are gone. Now the question remains – will the IRONMAN triathlon come back next year?

In a statement shared with Western Mass News, Dave Christen, the regional manager for the IRONMAN Group, said in part:

“We absolutely would love to come back year over year, but need to go through the process of review with all the hosts and all the communities and make sure that our shared vision is something we can repeat.”

Mayor Reichelt, who also participated in the triathlon as an athlete, is hoping the event comes back and continues to positively impact the area. He told us that officials in West Springfield will gather on Wednesday to review all the feedback they have gotten from the event and discuss what they can do better if the event comes back next year.

“It’s just kind of a little bit of better planning. Maybe some more messaging, some more like what we used during the fair. We had the LDS message boards to say road closures or delays, that type of thing,” he said. “Comparing it to the Boston Marathon that shuts down the city for a day, I think we can handle delays here in the communities.”

The IRONMAN organization told us that a decision about next year should be made in the coming weeks.