Biathlon equals dollars for Fort Kent area

FORT KENT – Plenty of people were milling around Main Street at noon Wednesday, Rock’s Restaurant had nary an empty table for lunch, traffic was heavy, and an estimated 3,000 people were on hand for the first day of the Biathlon World Cup.

The economics of biathlon were as evident Wednesday as the skis and rifles of competitors.

The president of the Maine Winter Sports Center, host for the international competition, estimates the $5.2 million economic impact forecast for the first Biathlon World Cup competition in New England will turn out to have been conservative.

The treasurer of the sports center went even further, saying the global exposure Aroostook County and the St. John Valley are receiving this week is “immeasurable.”

Both men, and many others, appeared pleased by the number of people who showed up at Wednesday morning’s opening competition. The events will continue each morning through Saturday.

Andy Shepard, president of the sports center, said the 150-plus athletes, their coaches and technical people, as well as the expected 20,000 spectators over four days, will probably spend $1.3 million.

Shepard said the economic development people use multipliers of three to seven for every new dollar brought into an area.

For the St. John Valley event, organizers used a multiplier of four.

Shepard said the competition and its dollars are part of the new “creative economy” people talk about.

“We are not trying to puff up numbers,” Shepard said. “These are numbers you can actually dig into.”

While putting on the games is an expensive project, the money comes from television contracts and corporate sponsors.

Shepard said this week’s competitions cost about $700,000, paid for by television contracts and corporate sponsors, but the numbers could be $2.5 million were it not for in-kind services from corporate sponsors and the large number of volunteers.

Carl Theriault of Fort Kent, one of the pioneers in bringing the cross-country and biathlon center to Fort Kent five years ago and treasurer of its board, looks at the World Cup as a boon for Aroostook County.

“This is exposure you just can’t buy. Just look at the number of people here today,” he said while the women’s pursuit race was going on in front of him. “There must be 3,000 people or more here today.

“Even more than that is the 400 or so athletes and coaches who didn’t know where Fort Kent was until a short time ago,” he said.

Theriault said people throughout the world now know where Fort Kent is. The television exposure in Europe, an estimated 20 million people, could help bring people to vacation here for years to come.

The Outdoor Life Network is bringing Fort Kent’s message to 6 million people a week in North America, according to Shepard. That’s above the millions in Europe who are learning where Fort Kent is this week.

Shepard agreed with that. He was, like many people Wednesday morning, surprised and gratified at the outpouring of spectators.

“We can build venues, but unless people come it doesn’t happen, and today they came,” he said. “It’s only important if people talk about it, and people are talking about.”