Harley Headin' Down the Highway - Convention Center in the Dark

By Timothy C. Davis
Staff Writer

No need to go cruisin' on North Oak Street, because the Myrtle Beach Convention Center is no longer host to Bike Week festivities - at least for the foreseeable future. Recently, the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association decided to follow the Harley-Davidson Corporation's lead and move its bike rally events to Hard Rock Park.

Or near it, at least.

"One thing a lot of people aren't getting is that the events will not be taking place within Hard Rock Park itself," says Megan Winnett, Public Relations Manager at Hard Rock Park. "It'll take place in our parking lot."

The City of Myrtle Beach could have replaced the event at the city-operated convention center, but city council members said they did not wish to host another bike-related event at the venue during Bike Week, which starts Friday.

Under terms of the agreement, the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association, who currently holds the lease, will only have to pay the remaining fees for the space if the city cannot find a replacement. (The dealers association has a contract for three more years, including this one.) But after turning down potential vendors from far and wide, says Paul Edwards, the general manager of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, the city will now have to pick up the $38,000 tab.

"The first week in February, I got a call from the president of the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association," says Edwards. "He mentioned that Harley Davidson - the corporation - was moving to Hard Rock Park. He said he didn't see how they could do the show without Harley's corporate support. I then asked him if he'd considered the contract we had. In all honesty, I think they were waiting to see what action we would take, as the only way we could release them from the contract was if we could re-rent the space.

"We sent a letter to the Dealers' Association with respect to the contract, and started working on replacing the event," Edwards says. "I called a gentleman from Roadshows, Inc. out of Reno, Nev., a large company with a good reputation, and a company which had put on bike shows at the Convention Center in the past. I asked him if perhaps we could put a show together, and he said he'd start working on getting vendors and such. At this point, I hadn't gotten a response from the Dealers Association about our letter. I planned to meet with Roadshow during Bike Week in Daytona. The day before I was supposed to leave, City Council decided they didn't want a bike event at the Convention Center, bringing more bikes downtown. But we got thousands of bikes off the road here with the show every year."

Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson's Marketing Director, Mike Shank, a partner in Festival Promotions, who has set up bike events at Barefoot Landing and Myrtle Beach Mall and Inlet Square, is the one who first purchased the rights to Hard Rock Park's parking lot.

"I guess everyone thinks we moved everything from the Convention Center, which in the end is I guess what happened," he says. "We negotiated to rent the parking lot at Hard Rock Park. And then Harley-Davidson, who was setting up at the Convention Center, decided to set up at Hard Rock Park, because they needed more space to expand their Harley Road Tour and other things. When Harley announced they were moving to the park, the Harley-Davidson Dealer's Association chose not to continue their lease at the Convention Center. The intention was not to get people to abandon their lease at the Convention Center. The park opened, and I went and rented that area and tried to get people out there to set up. It was their decision."

Edwards says he doesn't agree with the Dealers Association's space concerns, noting that the Convention Center had always managed to find space, whether for exhibits or parking.

"The Dealers Association said that Harley moving made them look for a new venue, and that they needed more space," says Edwards. "I couldn't agree with that. We'll see how it works out there. As of now, there's only one way in or out of the Hard Rock Park site. But it's anyone's guess right now. I can see why Hard Rock Park would cut the deal - if you don't cater to the bikers, you have nothing to use as a draw for that week."

Edwards says the Convention Center got plenty of interest from the bike industry wanting to rent the Convention Center, but had to jettison them all once the council made its decision.

"We got calls from anyone and everyone about putting on something once news got out about the Harley move," says Edwards. "City Council made the decision. I'm not sure if they'll do it for 2009 or 2010, and I don't think they know, either. They're going to wait and see. The City Manager (Tom Leith) said to the council that if we don't replace the Bike Week events, we certainly can't ask the Dealers Association to pay the contract. I believe it's going to be a waiting game, to see how this affects the amount of traffic in Myrtle Beach. Frankly, I don't think it'll change anything much. People will still want to eat and sleep in Myrtle Beach.

"I'm a biker, and I don't think they'll like that venue," he continues. "You have to sit in traffic for a couple hours to get from Conway to Myrtle Beach, and then turn around and go across the waterway. I understand the City Council's decision, and they don't have to contribute to Bike Week if they don't want. But if that's what we're cashing in on - those bikers spend millions here, even if not all of it stays in the area. It's hard to look at turning away revenue, even if it's another show. We're going to be dark here for a week while everyone else is pulling in the money."

The Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association 68th Annual Myrtle Beach Rally will set up shop in Hard Rock Park's parking lot from Wednesday, May 14 through Saturday, May 17.