Plans beefed up for Mesquite bull run

Robert Macy

Friday, July 9, 1999 | 11:08 a.m.

Call it bravado or bad judgment, hundreds of runners are expected to line up this weekend to match their skills against dozens of bulls in the second annual running of the bulls in Mesquite.

Promoter Phil Immordino expects up to 1,000 runners to pay for the dubious honor of being chased by bulls in an Americanized version of the 400-year-old running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

He's promised more action by recruiting Mexican fighting bulls, known to be more aggressive than the range bulls used in last year's inaugural event. The event has been moved to a track that is longer and narrower -- making the confrontation between runners and bulls more contentious.

"The phones have been ringing off the hook," Immordino said Thursday. "We've signed up more than 400 runners so far, and last year more than half the runners signed up on site. We expect 800 to 1,000 to run."

Runners pay $65, and can make additional runs at $20 each, Immordino said. Runs will be Saturday and Sunday morning, with a bull fight and other events planned Friday evening.

About 700 runners and 8,000 spectators turned out for last year's inaugural event at a quarter-mile track on the outskirts of Mesquite. This year's event will be at the city's rodeo grounds, with the run on a winding course a third-of-a-mile long and 10 feet narrower than in 1998.

Three runners suffered minor injuries last year.

Immordino said he hoped for a crowd of 12,000 to 15,000 spectators this year. As opposed to last year, when spectators watched the event unprotected in 110-degree heat, tents and shaded bleachers will be available this year, he said.

The bull run is expected to again be an economic boon for the town of Mesquite, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona line. The event comes in the dead of summer, when temperatures routinely top triple digits, and tourism is in the doldrums.

The event gained international attention last year when Immordino first sought to conduct it along an Interstate 15 bypass that runs through the heart of town.

The Nevada Highway Department nixed the idea, and the run was moved to a track just across the state line in Arizona, on the edge of Mesquite.

Immordino got in hot water with the law last year when he was arrested after the run for failing to obtain a permit for the event. Immordino, 41, was fined $5,539 and sentenced to a year's probation. He is appealing the case. Immordino claimed he had approval from the Mohave County, Ariz., county attorney to conduct the event.

Six of the 80 bulls to be used this year were killed Wednesday when a trailer in which they were being hauled came unhitched in northern Utah. Shane Holt, who contracts bulls for the event, said it would not impact the run.