Calling all cities. Do you want to host a leg of the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Series?
Then step right up as World Triathlon opened the bidding process earlier this week.
The full bid document is available here and there have been some notable changes from this season. In the 2023 WTCS bid process, the Sanction Fee for all cities was USD 150,000. That means that to host a WTCS event, the city involved would have to pay World Triathlon USD 150,000.
In the 2024 process, the same Sanction Fee applies (of USD 150,000) but with one big difference. If the host city is willing to give up three of its sponsorship slots to World Triathlon, they will only have to pay USD 50,000, saving the city USD 100,000.
One reason for the change may be to entice more cities to bid by reducing the cost element. To illustrate the possible need for this, the 2024 and 2025 WTCS Finals were originally due to be selected at the end of November 2022. The 2024 Final was awarded to Malaga earlier this month, however the 2025 Final has since been re-opened for bids alongside the 2026 Final.
From a speculative standpoint, one of the causes to the delays in the bidding may have been the cost element. World Triathlon may therefore be keen to reduce any potential blocking points for WTCS hosts.
The three slots retained by World Triathlon will also have tremendous value. In all likelihood they will be reserved for the existing sponsors of the Series. You can read about who they are here. Alternatively, they could be used as a carrot to attract more sponsors going forward.
Whatever the bid cities elect to choose when it comes to the Sanction Fee, World Triathlon will still benefit.
Another significant change to the bidding process comes from the production costs involved.
Any applicant city will be expected to cover an average USD 250,000 for the live TV production for the WTCS races. The change for 2024, though, is the addition of a second option. Instead of paying the quarter of a million in costs, the applicant city can cover the TV production as a “value in kind” service.
The chief way to do this would be to secure the local TV rights for the event. In the 2023 bidding process, cities were not given the option to secure the production costs with local TV rights.
World Triathlon will still get the same value through the local TV rights (as they should be “value in kind” they will have to be worth at least USD 250,000) but the key difference is the host city won’t have to stump up the cash.
Again, this provides applicant cities with the option of reducing the direct cash requirement while World Triathlon do not lose any value from the bids.
The following conditions are unchanged:
- The city will cover USD 200,000 prize money, which will include prize money for the regular event of USD 150,000 and USD 50,000 for the overall bonus pool.
- The city will cover approximately 50% of TV graphics (USD 16,000).
- The city will provide transportation to and from the airport for Elite athletes and support teams (approximately 180 people in total).
- The city will provide a travel grant of USD 300 per Elite athlete (maximum 120 athletes in total).
- The city will provide transportation to and from the closest port of international airport, port or train station accommodation for World Triathlon Executive Board Members, World Triathlon staff and Technical Officials.
All in all, costs can be expected to hit upwards of USD 500,000. World Triathlon’s move to compromise the hosting fee and production costs could half that.
Beyond standard items like approval from National Federation and relevant local authorities, there are other criteria. These are not binding but can help with any bid. They include the hosting of a World Cup the previous year, offering “an iconic route with a challenging, but safe and fair course, incorporating major city landmarks”, proposing “a stadium venue design proposal in a prime location and technical evaluations of the courses”, proximity to international airport and the provision of a USD 10 million event liability insurance.
There are plenty of hoops, then, to jump through for any city that wants to host a WTCS next season.
The bidding window is due to close on 15th July and the schedule for the 2024 season should be announced on 20th September 2023.
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