With July only six months away, many long-time Hollister
Independence Rally vendors are anxiously awaiting a decision from
the Hollister City Council on when, where and whether an
Independence Day biker rally will roar through town in 2006.
Hollister – With July only six months away, many long-time Hollister Independence Rally vendors are anxiously awaiting a decision from the Hollister City Council on when, where and whether an Independence Day biker rally will roar through town in 2006.
After the City Council canceled the Hollister Independence Rally Committee’s contract to put on the event, City Councilman Robert Scattini, a long-time supporter of the event, is anticipating the council will revisit the most recent rally proposal at its meeting on Jan. 17. The proposal, offered by Hollister resident Marlon Moss, representing a group he called the Hollister Rally Commission, was presented to the City Council last month. Moss proposed keeping the rally downtown and moving the main stage and beer garden to the vacant Fremont School on Fourth Street. At the time, Moss said that a rally downtown could work in conjunction with a rally at the airport, which had also been a proposed location by group Ghostrider Promotions – led by former HIRC president Dave Ventura.
Scattini said he expects thousands of bikers to flood downtown Hollister in July regardless of whether the city formally organizes an event. Furthermore, he worried that even if the council approved a rally proposal now, it may be too late.
“It’s late in the game to start right now,” he said Friday. “It’s going to be hard to get vendors to come.”
John Clements, co-owner of the Orange County-based motorcycle accessory and apparel company Billet Industries, has already put down an $800 deposit for a vendor booth on Sixth Street, and is concerned about the rally being moved and getting his money back if there isn’t a rally at all.
“Location is a big deal at these events,” he said. “We’ll probably still come out this year, but we’d need at least two months notice and I’d like to see a map of the area, know how it’s going to be set up and what kind of spot I’m going to get before I make a decision.”
City Councilman Brad Pike hasn’t given up hope on the prospect of hosting a rally this year, but he’s still waiting for the right company to come forward to award a contract to.
“Realistically we have five-and-a-half months to get it down,” he said. “At this point it is going to take someone who has the knowledge, capability and capital to come in and do it. Outside of that I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Just weeks after the City Council voted 3-1 in November to terminate HIRC’s contract with the city, former HIRC president Ventura and two other former HIRC members formed Ghostrider Promotions and submitted a rally proposal to the city. The Ghostrider proposal calls for moving the rally out of downtown, charging a $10 gate fee and making it an age restricted event. Ventura formed Ghostrider with former HIRC members Helen Nelson and Bruce Beetz. Despite profits for the city of more than $550,000 projected in the Ghostrider proposal, estimated expenses exceeding $1.4 million have council members wary of risking the city’s general fund for profits that might not pan out. The majority of council members cited financial reasons – this year’s rally stuck the city with a $360,000 law enforcement bill – when they voted to terminate HIRC’s contract after that group had organized the rally for nearly a decade.
Victor Vert, owner of Boss Hoss V-8 Motorcycles in Torrance, also has cash on the line.
“We hope our deposit is refundable – I’d hate to think it’s not,” he said. “This event is a big deal for us – any one show can make your year and this is our biggest show. For us, Hollister is a must.”
Although HIRC President John Loyd did not return phone calls regarding the issue of deposits, City Manager Clint Quilter said that he did not think the city could be held liable by vendors who had put down money for deposits with HIRC if the rally doesn’t happen this year.
“I can’t imagine that we would be,” he said. “We have no relationship with them.”
Vert is not excited about the prospect of having the location of the rally changed, especially since he’s already put down more than $500 on a booth in the downtown area.
“There is a quaintness about the downtown area,” he said. “We’ve been to airport rallies and they are kind of blase – there is nothing like taking over downtown Hollister, it’s a sight to behold. At the airport there is no ambiance.”
Vert has been watching the developments in Hollister for several months and hopes a decision is made soon so he can decide whether or not to commit to coming this year. Vert said he wants to be near the crowds and that location will play a big factor in his decision to come. Vert anticipates that even if the rally is held out at the airport, bikers will stay in the downtown area.
“I don’t think, as a vendor, I’d want to go out to the airport and sit around in the hot sun… while everyone is downtown at the bar,” he said.
A representative of Biker Design, Inc., which has exclusive rights to official T-shirt sales for the rally, said the company has thousands of dollars tied up in deposits and will come no matter what the city council decides.
John Robinson, owner of V-Twin Decor in Albany, Ore., said larger vendors could have trouble making it to the rally on short notice because they fill up their schedule up to a year in advance. However, smaller ones can probably get to an event with two or three months notice, he said. The main problem with short notice is finding a hotel room, he said.
“Probably, as a vendor, it depends on how big you are,” Robinson said.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com.
