Hollister
– Preparations continue for next year’s Independence Day
motorcycle rally, but promoter Seth Doulton warned that time is
running out. Doulton, whose company, Horse Power Promotions, was
hired to org-anize the ev-ent, said sponsors, vendors and touring
shows are fin-alizing their 2007 schedules and
bud-gets.
Hollister – Preparations continue for next year’s Independence Day motorcycle rally, but promoter Seth Doulton warned that time is running out. Doulton, whose company, Horse Power Promotions, was hired to org-anize the ev-ent, said sponsors, vendors and touring shows are fin-alizing their 2007 schedules and bud-gets.
Rally org-anizers hope the City Council will vote on a contract between the city and the Hollister Motorcycle Rally Committee by the end of Nov-ember.
“I would say that we’re shooting ourselves in the foot … by about 25 percent (of available sponsorship) if we wait after Dec. 1,” Doulton said.
City Councilman Doug Emerson said he has some reservations about the rally, but he agreed that the city needs to move quickly.
“I think we all realize that they’ve got to line up the vendors who are going to come,” Emerson said. “If we’re going to do it, we need to get started soon.
“The questions, for me, have to do with the financial end. … Once we get into it, there has to be a real level of comfort that there’s no financial risk to the city. There also has to be a comfort level with the safety.”
Emerson said his concerns shouldn’t stop the committee from moving forward, but he hopes to see a budget that is “more thought-out” than the one presented to the Council on Nov. 6.
One of the keys to ensuring that the event makes money, Doulton said, is to give one or two companies the exclusive rights to sell official rally T-shirts and merchandise.
“That’s upfront, guaranteed money,” he said.
Doulton said that if the licensing and promotion is handled properly, merchandise can become a year-round revenue source, and tourists might be interested in buying rally apparel whenever they come into town.
Another goal, Doulton said, is to provide more entertainment during the rally. He said most attendees “buy the T-shirt, have a beer and maybe walk through the vendor area once. I want them to stay closer to the area all weekend long.”
The current rally committee is a new group spearheaded by Mayor Robert Scattini. The previous organizers, the Hollister Independence Rally Committee, went bankrupt in 2006, leaving the city to foot the bill for $250,000 of law enforcement. This year, the City Council canceled the rally, but thousands of motorcyclists drove into town anyway, and the city once again had to pay the public safety bill.
Doulton hopes to cut the public safety costs this year without, he emphasized, threatening public safety.
“I’m on the police’s side. … I don’t want the rally to be underpoliced or underprotected,” he said. “If we save money, it all goes back to the city. Any money saved is your own money.”
Santa Ynez’s Horse Power Promotions, according to Doulton, has been organizing car shows, motorcycle shows and rodeos since 1981. It recently coproduced the Grand National Bike Show in San Francisco’s Cow Palace, and annually puts on All American Motorcycle Madness in Santa Maria.
Committee Chair Charisse Tyson, who owns Johnny’s Bar and Grill in downtown Hollister, said Doulton has been a team player.
“I have a genuine feeling that he cares about making this a great event,” Tyson said.
Doulton acknowledged that he’s heard concerns about the event from local residents and officials.
“The city, for some reason, they don’t understand that a lot of money comes into town,” he said. He added that every event has its detractors. “Even with rodeos, you get people who say, ‘We don’t like it, because of all the flies from the manure.'”
Doulton also argued that it’s in his interest to put on the best event possible.
“I’m in it for the long haul,” he said. “I’m not going to do anything – be it in food services or police – to short-cut it. … This has more potential than any other event I’ve been involved with.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
