An Ironman sequel could be in the works.

The North Idaho Sports Commission has asked the City Council to agree to a return of the full Ironman triathlon in 2021.

The agreement, proposed Thursday, would extend the city’s relationship with Ironman through 2023.

Race organizers would host the 70.3-mile half-course in 2020 and reintroduce the full 140.6-mile race in 2021. The course would revert to the half-marathon for 2022 and 2023.

“When the full Ironman left a few years ago, many people were disappointed,” Mayor Steve Widmyer said. “It had been just a great event in Coeur d’Alene. Since that time, we have been working hard to find a way to bring it back.”

After dwindling support, the city and Ironman tried to adjust the race’s schedule dating back to 2016, when Ironman’s half-race ran in June, with the full race in August. Those separate races proved financially unsustainable in 2017. Coeur d’Alene became home to a half-race.

“This new agreement is really the result of two years brainstorming between all three parties on how to make this event more successful,” North Idaho Sports Commission vice president Britt Bachtel-Browning said. “Between the three contracting parties — the City of Coeur d’Alene, the North Idaho Sports Commission and Ironman — we all worked together to create a plan that works for everyone.”

Under the proposal, the city and Ironman will finish their current contract with the half-race next year. Coeur d’Alene will then enter into a rotating schedule with St. George, Utah, and a still-to-be-determined Pacific Northwest venue, Bachtel-Browning said. Those three cities would, presumably, continue to rotate. St. George will offer the full race in 2020 before Coeur d’Alene takes the full course in 2021.

“When Ironman came and proposed this three-year rotation, that was really a win for us,” she said. “We liked the June date. We liked having one race, not two. And every three years, it will create a demand. 2021 will mark four years since [the full course] has been in Coeur d’Alene. I anticipate us selling out the full race.”

While June’s half-race in Coeur d’Alene brought in healthy participation, a full race serves as an Ironman qualifier, allowing those atop the leaderboard to compete in Kona, Hawaii, for the world championships every October. Those championships, as it turns out, happened to help the three parties seal the deal.

“Having that August qualifer was hard for us,” Bachtel-Browning said. “Athletes were less likely to compete, because the weather was hotter, and because smoke [from Idaho’s fire season] was impacting performance. And if an athlete had already qualified, they were less likely to compete so close to their world championships. So this works out great for us.”

Financial details include Ironman sharing 25 percent of net endorsement revenue with the Sports Commission.

The agreement will come to City Council for a vote Oct. 15.