Hollister
– The Hollister Motorcycle Rally Committee will meet its first
financial deadline with room to spare, according to rally promoter
Seth Doulton.
Hollister – The Hollister Motorcycle Rally Committee will meet its first financial deadline with room to spare, according to rally promoter Seth Doulton.
The committee is required to pay the city $100,000 by today, $250,000 by March 1 and the balance of the rally’s public safety costs – estimated at $382,000 – by March 31. If any of those deadlines aren’t met, the city’s motorcycle rally will be canceled.
Doulton said the committee will present the City Council with a check for $125,000 at its meeting tonight.
“We’re going to make the deadlines with no problem,” Doulton said.
Doulton, whose company Horse Power Promotions was hired by the committee to organize the event, said he’s been working hard to enlist event sponsors and vendors, especially since the rally was approved in December. He reported that vendors have already signed up for about two-thirds of the available vending space, and that he’s distributed 10,000 promotional fliers for the Hollister rally – which brings about 100,000 bikers into town on Independence Day weekend – in the last two weeks.
“It’s a little bit of a crunch time at the office, but I feel really good about things,” Doulton said. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Committee chairwoman Charisse Tyson, who owns Johnny’s Bar and Grill, said Doulton’s work has been “awesome.” When asked if she was surprised that the rally has exceeded its first financial benchmark, Tyson said, “No, not knowing Seth. I don’t doubt for a minute that we’re going to make it.”
But not everyone is thrilled at the rally’s progress. Councilman Doug Emerson has estimated that his constituents are divided 50-50 for and against the rally. And although most local businesses declined to discuss the rally’s approval, some have reported closing their doors on Independence Day weekend in the past.
“At this time, I can only say, ‘Oh well, whatever, I hope it will be fine,'” said Hollister resident Claudia Olson, a vocal rally opponent. “But I don’t think it will be. It’s going to grow and become a problem for the community.”
Olson said the city’s leadership needs to present a vision for what Hollister will be “when we grow up.”
“Do we want to be another Sturgis?” Olson said, pointing to the South Dakota city that hosts one of the largest motorcycle events in the world. For her part, Olson is worried the city will become known as a year-round motorcycle haven.
The committee also approved an official rally logo created by Hollister resident Jim Wood of Sage Blanc, Inc. Doulton said the logo has already been licensed to companies producing official rally sunglasses, seats, helmets and wheels, with other negotiations in progress.
The council declined to approve the motorcycle rally in 2006, but tens of thousands of bikers rode into town anyway, and the city had to foot the public safety bill.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
