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The shorter Ironman this weekend won't match the peak dollar-blast of Chattanooga's full Ironman -- but it's still filling hotel rooms and ranks among the area's top 15 convention and sporting events for economic impact.
"People are in town," said Timothy Morgan Jr., president of the Chattanooga Sports Committee Office. "They'll be eating at restaurants. Our hotels are still being utilized. People are spending money."
Today's Ironman 70.3, also known as Half Ironman, is expected to have a $1.6 million economic impact. The full Ironman, in September, is expected to have an $8 million impact -- the highest of any local convention or sporting event this year.
About 3,100 competitors bought spots for Half Ironman, but not all will show up, Morgan said. About 2,500 are expected to compete, a few hundred more than signed in for Chattanooga's inaugural Ironman last September. Total attendance is expected to be 6,250, compared with about 12,000 for a full event in the city.
Hotel rooms started filling on Friday for the half event, as compared with Thursday for last year's full event, said Tom Underwood, general manager for the Chattanooga Marriott Downtown.
"It's a little less impactful than the full Ironman back in September," he said. "I think Saturday night will be great for all of us."
Late Friday afternoon, most downtown hotels still had rooms available for Friday night, according to expedia.com. There are about 2,500 hotel rooms in downtown Chattanooga and 10,000 in Hamilton County. Even during September's full Ironman, rooms were still available at some hotels within 15 miles of the city.
The Chattanooga Marriott Downtown expected to be sold out Saturday and was already sold out Sunday, but that's in part due to a big group staying in rooms for reasons unrelated to Ironman, Underwood said. The Friday before the full Ironman last year, the hotel was fully booked Saturday and Sunday.
Even after this year, Hamilton County and Chattanooga should continue to benefit from Ironman: full and half events will be in the Scenic City through 2018, in September and May, respectively. Chattanooga is one of a few cities worldwide to host both a full Ironman and an Ironman 70.3.
Brian Myrick, race director for the Chattanooga Ironman events, said the community rallied and collaborated to pull off a "great event" last fall, from police departments to city and county governments and the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Ironman events are in 112 cities across the globe, he said, "and Chattanooga ranks up there with some of the best."
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.