Local nonprofit and service organizations have expressed worries
about whether their earnings from this year’s Hollister Motorcycle
Rally will equal what they made in years past.
Local nonprofit and service organizations have expressed worries about whether their earnings from this year’s Hollister Motorcycle Rally will equal what they made in years past.
The Hollister Rotary Club, for example, made $30,000 running the rally’s popular beer garden two years ago. Other groups made good money selling food or T-shirts to the bikers who rolled into town for the event.
This year, an out-of-town company, Five Star Catering, bought the rights to the rally’s food and beverage concession. That means Five Star Catering will be running the beer garden this year. It’s likely that Hollister Rotary will have some role to play at the beer garden, but the club’s earnings are expected to be in the neighborhood of $15,000 to $20,000.
Compared to past rallies, that represents a loss not just for Rotary but for all of the local programs the service club supports. But it’s also important to remember that local groups like Rotary didn’t make any money off the rally when it was canceled in 2006. So what the club stands to make this year is actually $15,000 to $20,000 more than it brought in last year.
The motorcycle rally’s potential as a money-maker for local nonprofits and local programs is a big part of the reason we’ve supported bringing the event back in July of 2007. That and the economic opportunity the event offers to local businesses are why the City of Hollister agreed to allow the rally to be held again this year.
But the city also set up certain conditions that had to be met for the rally to happen this year. At the top of the list is a requirement that rally organizers put up $362,000 by March 1 to assure the city it will have money in hand to cover public safety costs and other expenses it incurs because of the rally.
The local rally committee hired a professional event promoter, Horse Power Promotions, to stage this year’s event. The promoter has a reputation for running high-quality events and making sure bills get paid. And the promoter has hit the city’s deadline for a first payment toward that required $362,000. To raise the up-front money, Horse Power Promotions has sold concession and vendor rights for the rally.
Beyond that, the promoter has worked to facilitate opportunities for local non-profits like Rotary to profit from this year’s rally by working with concessionaires such as Five Star Catering.
The 2007 motorcycle rally is the first to be run by a professional promoter. If it’s done right – and so far all indications are good – the rally could over time grow into a better, more profitable event for all concerned.
Since we’ve committed to giving the rally another go this year, let’s give it a chance to succeed. And afterward, let’s take a hard look at whether it served its purpose. If all of the profits go out of town, it’s a losing proposition. But a well-run event that benefits local businesses and helps community organizations would be a winner for Hollister.
