Sunday, Jun. 13, 2010

Businesses optimistic for a motorcycle rally rebirth in Myrtle Beach area

With the South Carolina Supreme Court's ruling overturning Myrtle Beach's helmet law, many people wonder whether motorcyclists will return in greater numbers next year.

Harley-Davidson of North Myrtle Beach is betting on it. The shop has already chosen the dates for a seven-day rally in 2011 - May 13-21 - and changed the marquee in front of the store on U.S. 17 to let people know.

Fliers for next year's rally say "The Beach is Back," and while that might seem overly optimistic to some, others say the beach is at least on its way back.

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  "Of all the [rally ordinances], that's the one that had the most question of being upheld," said former City Councilman Chuck Martino, who voted in favor of the law in 2008 when the city devised 14 regulations and ordinance amendments designed to gain control of the May motorcycle rallies and push them outside city limits.

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  "I love it. I think it's awesome," said motorcyclist Anthony Spinnato of Myrtle Beach.

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  "I know a lot of people who are waiting to decide whether to come back this year based on what the court decides," said motorcyclist Scott Welborn of Greenville. He lived on the Grand Strand and worked for a Harley-Davidson shop for 12 years, and said he will come back for the May 7-16 rally because he's still got friends here he'd like to see.

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  The checks are in the mail.

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  The city paid $13,964 in fine refunds for 141 tickets issued while the helmet law was in effect from February 2009 to this summer, when the state Supreme Court declared the law invalid.

Horry County hotelier Robert Kelley, who founded Business Owners Organized to Support Tourism, one of the groups that sued the city to end the helmet law, said as soon as the news began to spread about Tuesday's ruling, he received calls from regulars already looking to book rooms for next year.

In peak years, May's rallies drew an estimated 500,000 people. Whether because of the city's stand, the economy or both, the past two Mays have seen far fewer motorcycles in the city and along the Grand Strand.

"That's why I say this was a hollow victory," BOOST spokesman Tom Herron said of the court's ruling on the day the court issued its decision. "The damage has been done."

But while some people say they'll never return, and others say they'll come but still won't patronize Myrtle Beach, there are those who are confident the biker economy will rebuild itself eventually.

"Probably not as fast as Daytona," said rider Gary Harrill of Stanley, N.C., who owns a condo in Myrtle Beach. "It will take a long, long time to rectify it."

Make no mistake: the city of Myrtle Beach has lost its motorcycle helmet ordinance, but it is not changing its stance on rallies.

Tuesday's court ruling said the city invalidated the helmet law itself by repealing the law that created an administrative hearing process to deal with helmet law violations as infractions. The court also said several other ordinances that created similar infractions would be invalid, such as the juvenile curfew.

City Council members said Tuesday they will amend those ordinances this month so they can remain in place.

But that's not bothering those who are optimistic about next year.

"It might take a while, but [bikers] will bring themselves back," said Harley-Davidson shop manager Juan Salcedo. "Everyone I've talked to has been saying they'll be back."

He said one of the biggest problems has come from the bikers themselves, complaining about the rallies since the city passed the helmet law in 2008. The law was part of a package of ordinances designed to gain control over the May Harley-Davidson and sport bike rallies and push them outside city limits after years of listening to residents complain about noise, trash and lewd behavior.

"If we had the same mentality as the people who go to [Atlantic Beach] Bikefest - they don't let it bother them," Salcedo said. "They say 'We're still going to come,' and they just come and have fun. All the negative talk about there being no bikers here, no vendors - which isn't true, there were fewer, but there were people here - just makes people want to go somewhere else."

Salcedo said this year wasn't as bad as people thought - his shop sold out of motorcycles, and he said he'll order a bigger inventory for next year.

Harrill said he has heard talk among the biker community in the Charlotte area about holding another rally here to help the businesses that were affected by the "Not a Dime in '09" and "Do it Again in '10" boycotts.

He and his family are avid riders, and Harrill said if there's a rally near the Grand Strand, he and his family are here. But he said he participated in the boycott of the city, too.

"There was a lot of naivete about how big the effect of the boycott would be," Harrill said. "[The City Council] did an ugly thing to Myrtle Beach."

While some business owners and residents would agree, there are many who don't. They understand the role tourism plays in the local economy, but have said they don't want to rely on three weeks a year as the city's business model.

In 2009, the first year the law was in effect, not much went on during May. But this year, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the city and private groups planned and put on festivals every weekend in May. While none drew 500,000 people, the city said the events laid the foundation for rebuilding the spring economy with a more diverse tourist base.

Mike Shank, owner of Festival Promotions, used to be the promoter for the Harley-Davidson Spring Cruisin' the Coast rally, working for Harley-Davidson store owner Phil Schoonover.

Shank was also one of the people who sued the city, though his suit was dropped last year.

Promoting the rally was a big part of his business, but he has begun diversifying more, too, working with Coastal Uncorked, the May gourmet food and wine festival that kicked off this year, and he's starting a new Fourth of July 8K and 5K run that he wants to grow to be as big as his popular Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.

In a down economy, though, he laments the loss of business from the rally. He said the helmet-law ruling isn't going to make a big difference.

"I wish it would," he said.