The weeklong 2006 Arctic Winter Games brought a healthy dose of athletic competitiveness, cultural interaction and entertainment to the Kenai Peninsula.

But did the thousands of participants and visitors boost business?

It depends on whom you ask.

“We had a good week last week,” said Frances Needham, front office manager at Bidarka Inn Best Western. She credited the increase in business to Arctic Winter Games support staff, as well as visitors who attended the start of the Iditarod and visited the peninsula afterward.

Dawn Schneider, general manager for Land’s End Resort, also reported an increase in business.

“We didn’t get a lot of hotel business out of the deal, but we did a pretty brisk business in the restaurant,” Schneider said.

In addition to the steady lunch customers associated with curling, Land’s End welcomed several large groups.

“There were big parties of actual athletes and some of the cultural groups and we definitely saw some parents floating around,” Schneider said. “It was fun.”

Increased visitors and sales associated with the Games were evidenced at Fireweed Gallery, according to Rowen Mulvey, gallery associate.

“A lot of folks here for the Games were wearing ID badges, so we got to where we recognized them,” Mulvey said. “And it was not just competitors. There were officials and support staff, too.”

But not all Homer businesses were as fortunate. Although closed for the winter, Jackie Dentz opened Frosty Bear Ice Cream Parlor in anticipation of increased business as a result of the Games.

“But there was absolutely zero impact,” said Dentz, adding, “We did have a lot of people come down just to photograph eagles. Thank God we’re still feeding those eagles.”

Preparing for a wave of visitors, Safeway planned to put on more help, but that wave never happened, according to Pam Parnell, assistant manager.

“We thought a lot more people would be driving down to look at the scenery, but they didn’t come,” Parnell said.

An estimated 20 people stopped by the Homer Visitor Center, said Derotha Ferraro, executive director of the Homer Chamber of Commerce.

“I think that shop owners envisioned masses and so because they envisioned masses, they were disappointed,” Ferraro said. “There was nothing significant, but anything in March is better than nothing.”

Gottschalks, in Soldotna, had a different experience. The juniors department was “shopped hard,” according to manager Cecilia Daniel. Sales in the Fred Meyer photo-electronics section were up 60 percent, and adult visitors bought a lot of Pendleton and Carhartt brand-name clothing at Sweeney’s in Soldotna. In addition to clothing in juniors sizes, Gottschalks also did a good business in brand-name clothes, denim and cosmetics, said Daniels, who declined to give out specific sales figures.

I-pods were the big seller in the Fred Meyer photo-electronics department, according to assistant manager Mary Wilson. Sales of shoes also “were huge,” she said.

“Some kids bought six, seven, eight, nine pairs,” Wilson said. Clothing in junior sizes sold well there as in Gottschalks, and Wilson said Levis brand jeans did well. “In health and beauty, shampoos and conditioner went well, and, of course, candy.”

Wilson said some of the store’s departments had increased sales of 30 percent and “photo was close to 60 percent up.”

Some of the young Games visitors were intrigued by the store’s self-serve check-out lanes and Wilson said, “They liked the motorized mart carts. They found them pretty entertaining.”

Some of the clerks at Sweeney’s clothing store said they expected more of a crowd of young shoppers

“We didn’t get the kids. We got the adults. … They were buying the cultural designs,” said floor manager Larry Shafer, referring to Pendleton jackets featuring Navajo Indian designs.

People from Canada’s Northwest Territories bought a lot of shoes and boots at Sweeney’s.

“They could get them at a reasonable price,” Shafer said.

He said some of the younger people who came into the store reported having trouble getting automated teller machines to accept their bankcards.

“I picked up three kids from Greenland out front and gave them a ride to Wells Fargo so they could exchange their money. They thanked me and thanked me all the way back,” Shafer said. “They were a great bunch of kids.”

At Home Depot in Kenai, manager Nick Erickson said, “I don’t think (the Games) affected us positively or negatively. … We sold a little bit of kerosene to the (Arctic Winter Games) organization, and we donated a good amount of materials.”

Kenai Safeway manager Doug Jung said he saw a little bit of an increase, though not as much as he expected.

“A lot of the events were over in Soldotna and businesses there did pretty well,” he said. “We did a little bit in the bakery, a little in the deli. Probably the biggest increase was in our Alaska souvenir section.”