Letter: Motorcycle event promotions tough

Tuesday, June 1, 1999 | 10:25 a.m.

Organizers claim they can draw 100,000 attendees because the Laughlin River Run drew 55,000 this year. That's correct but this is their 17th year and Laughlin is not Las Vegas. Two other events which have the largest draws (Sturgis and Daytona) have been around over 50 years. I hope they also haven't overlooked the fact that two weeks prior to their event, the 30th Annual Golden Aspen M/C Rally in Ruidoso, N.M., will draw some 25,000. Just how much vacation time do these people think these motorcyclists have?

Similar events (maybe on a less grand scale) have been tried here before, as well as Reno.

One thing these bikers like to do when they come to a rally is ride ... and sometimes 24 hours long. Can you visualize 10,000 bikers motoring up and down Fremont Street, Las Vegas Boulevard, Boulder Highway, yet alone 100,000?

Many of these motorcyclists (I like that more than bikers) like to camp out to avoid spending all their money on hotel and motel rooms. This area does not have enough camp sites, and I doubt that there would be that many extra rooms available. And let's not forget the law enforcement problems that always seem to crop up when large number of motorcyclists congregate in any one place.

I will remain very pessimistic about this one. If they draw 10,000 the first year, they should consider themselves very, very fortunate.

JOE SCHAERER, Mega Enterprises events director