FORT KENT – The Aroostook County biathlon community said Monday that the Banknorth Group Inc. multiyear agreement with the United States Biathlon Association lends an increased level of credibility to the area’s dedication to Nordic skiing and biathlon in particular.

Residents were overjoyed, saying the news brought credence to the work being done in Aroostook County since the 1998 birth of the idea of a Maine Winter Sports Center.

Since then, biathletes from all over the world have competed at the sports center venues in Presque Isle and Fort Kent. One of nine Biathlon World Cup Series events was held in 2004 at Fort Kent, and thousands of fans attended the three days of events.

Some said it would pump up the enthusiasm for the Paralympic Biathlon World Competition coming to Fort Kent in two months.

On Monday, Banknorth Group Inc. announced that it will invest more than $1 million over a six-year period to bring the headquarters of the U.S. Biathlon Association to Portland, its sponsorship of Biathlon World Cup Series competition on the Outdoor Life Network, and to bring the 2006 Olympic biathlon trials to Fort Kent.

“Wow,” Fort Kent Town Manager Donald Guimond said when told of the news. “This shows the bank’s commitment to Maine, and rewards our communities and the Maine Winter Sports Center for all the work done for biathlon.

“All of these efforts, by so many people, have paid off,” he said. “The exposure this community received last year will continue.”

“For the state of Maine, this is great,” Max Saenger, chief operating officer with the MWSC, said Monday. “It shows again that Maine is where it’s at for biathlon and cross-country skiing in the Northeast.”

Moving the national federation headquarters closer to the two northern Maine venues is fantastic for the sport, Saenger said.

“For the kids coming into the program, having a sponsor like Banknorth means they will be taken care of and have what they need to compete against other nations,” he said.

Carl Theriault of Fort Kent was on the ground floor when the Libra Foundation of Portland started looking at Fort Kent for Nordic skiing and biathlon expansions.

“This announcement solidifies Maine’s position in both cross-country [skiing] and biathlon,” Theriault said Monday. “This lends credibility to everything the Maine Winter Sports Center and northern Maine people have done for the last several years.

“We didn’t know anything about biathlon when we started in 1998, and now the whole country will learn to understand Nordic skiing and biathlon with the [Outdoor Life Network] connection,” he said. “We are on the edge of getting results from all the work that has been done.”

Fort Kent and Presque Isle are becoming increasingly synonymous with cross-country skiing and biathlon people worldwide. The venues at both places, the 10th Mountain Division site at Fort Kent and the Nordic Heritage Center at Presque Isle, have gained the reputation of being among the best in the world.

Fort Kent’s Guimond and several others hope the new commitment will help in finding an entrepreneur to build more infrastructure in northern Aroostook County. It was said last March that Fort Kent and Aroostook County need more rooms to house athletes and supporters for future events.

“Commitments of money by people need assurances that investments will pay in the long run,” Guimond said. “This could be a spark that starts it all.”

Saenger also believes the Banknorth sponsorship will help develop infrastructure in northern Maine.

“It definitely elevates the sport of biathlon and the idea that resorts can be built on this,” he said. “This could open the gates to having another motel-hotel in Fort Kent and that would be beneficial.”

Theriault also believed the news of more support would attract entrepreneurs. “More people will feel less risk, less adverse risk, and more rooms in Fort Kent is the next step in our development.”

“We’ve been working to develop world-class venues, and it’s great that they will be used more than in the past,” Ray Hewes, a vice president with Citizens Bank in Presque isle and coordinator of events at the Nordic Heritage Center, said Monday.

“This is absolutely great news, and it will bring more,” he said. “It’s more than favorable.”

“It’s news to me, but it doesn’t surprise me,” Glen Lamarre, a volunteer at the Fort Kent venue, said Monday. “It’s a bunch of great news, a positive impact for the area.

“It’s great for the volunteers we have had because they are one of the major reasons we have a favorable look in the biathlon world,” he said, “our volunteers and our natural resource of snow.”

People involved in the development were happy with the news.

“I’m ecstatic about it, it’s fabulous,” said Mike Kelly, a Presque Isle banker and supporter of biathlon and cross-country skiing. “This is continuing to elevate Maine, especially northern Maine,” he said. “It’s putting us on the worldwide map.

“People from all over the globe are coming here,” he said. “That’s very impressive.”

The news also was welcomed by the business community.

“That’s great for the area,” said Peter Pinette, owner of Rock’s Restaurant in Fort Kent. “We can’t depend on just one industry, snowmobiling, we have to be diversified.

“There are two great facilities in Aroostook County for cross-country and biathlon, and we have great volunteers,” he said, a volunteer for biathlon himself. “The volunteer base has been great every time they were needed,” he said. “The spirit is here for hosting events.”