Complete Agenda Package - Town of Hilton Head Island

MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
Town Council
Stephen G. Riley, Town Manager
DATE: May 2, 2013
RE:
Proposed IRONMAN Triathlon on Hilton Head Island
The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce is seeking Town Council’s vote
of support for the concept of conducting an IRONMAN Triathlon on the Island and
surrounding region.
The Chamber, along with other partners, has developed and submitted the attached
application to hold this event, starting in 2014, in response to a solicitation from the
World Triathlon Corporation seeking a new venue in the Southeastern United States.
The Triathlon would involve up to 2,500 participants in an event that involves:
• A swim of 2.4 miles
• A bike race of 112 miles
• A run of 26.2 miles
Friends, family and support members often accompany each participant.
There are multiple proposed routes for each segment of the event with a final route yet to
be determined. Particularly for the bike race, the routes involve potentially multiple
jurisdictions, including the neighboring communities of Bluffton, Hardeeville, Beaufort
and Port Royal as well as Beaufort and Jasper Counties. The State Department of
Transportation will play a role as will local and regional law enforcement and fire and
EMS services. Several routes involve private roads controlled by various POA’s.
All routes impact any number of neighborhoods and commercial districts.
There are many organizational and safety issues to be addressed across many
jurisdictions. At this stage, support for continuing to explore the concept would be the
most that Council would be in a position to vote on.