Biathlon filled coffers for some, offered hope for region’s future

FORT KENT – Jim Carter of Caribou thinks that the 16 hits from Europe he got earlier this week on the Web site of his Munsungan Hunting and Fishing Club, located in Township 8, on Route 9 southwest of Ashland, is not a coincidence, but a direct result of the Biathlon World Cup held last week.

Normally, he gets a hit from Europe once in a while on his site, he said Thursday. Those 16 hits all came in one day.

Last Sunday, Carter had seven hits from Czechoslovakia and nine from Sweden.

That’s the financial future of biathlon, believers claim. Last week, it was hit or miss on Main Street in terms of business impact, but even those who missed out are happy that the event took place, thinking it may help in the future.

Biathlon World Cup week brought new money to town, and business owners this week were calculating what the competitions did for them.

“Some might say this was a coincidence, and if it is, it’s a strange one,” Carter, of Washburn, said Thursday. “These people must be seeing us on television, and they are exploring us.

“They know what they are seeing on television is northern Maine, and they are looking around [northern Maine],” Carter said. “This [Biathlon World Cup] is a very positive thing for northern Maine.”

On Main Street, it was a mixed bag.

Laurel Daigle, who operates the Country Cottage Gift Shop on Main Street, said business was bad last week. Not only was there no business from Europeans and tourists in town, but regular customers also stayed away.

“We had very few sales,” Daigle said. “We didn’t have biathlon souvenirs, and that’s what [people wanted].”

Despite his store’s lack of success, however, Daigle added, “Fort Kent was highlighted as we have never been before. It was an amazing spectacle, and, looking at the big picture, this was good for the town and area.”

He hopes that before the next event local stores can work with the biathlon organizing committee to have more stores carrying biathlon souvenirs.

The Northern Door Inn, a local motel, was filled the entire week. Snowmobilers were turned away during the week to make room for visitors from Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden, said desk clerk Paulette Levesque on Thursday.

“This certainly gave us a good boost, all the traffic in here, especially Friday and Saturday,” Peter Pinette, owner of Rock’s Restaurant, near the Northern Door Inn, said Thursday.

“Winter was slow, but last week was real busy for us.

“This surpassed Can-Am [Crown International Sled Dog Race] week for us,” he said. “I had all regular staff working, plus summer workers home for the competitions working for us.”

His sales doubled, the restaurant owner said. The restaurant also served 80 meals a day to people attached to the games. On Friday and Saturday, there were periods of standing room only, he said.

Mike Voisine, manager of Millers, a Main Street clothing store, said winter wear flew off the shelves. Europeans bought brand names they can’t find in Europe at spring sale prices.

“They were amazed at the prices, and they bought a lot of clothing,” Voisine said.

Organizers have estimated the economic benefit of the weeklong games in the area was $5.2 million.

But that doesn’t count the future economic benefits that will come from the biathlon putting Fort Kent on the map, said Carl Theriault, treasurer of the Maine Winter Sports Center board of directors.

“People will find out about northern Maine,” he predicted.