Horry council chair says bike rally changes hurt economically
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Horry council chair says bike rally changes hurt...
Horry County Council Chairman Liz Gilland said without a doubt there were fewer bikers on the Grand Strand for the spring Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally, compared to last year.
Marshall Staton/WBTW
Horry County Council Chairman Liz Gilland talks to News13 about the Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally.
Published: May 19, 2009
Updated: May 20, 2009
The start of the Atlantic Beach Memorial bike fest is just one day away.
And while people are getting ready for that rally, local business owners said it is going to take a long time for them to recover the money lost from last week’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally.
Horry County Council Chairman Liz Gilland said without a doubt there were fewer bikers on the Grand Strand for the spring Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally, compared to last year.
Gilland said she spent one night on the south end during the rally and the rumble from the motorcycles was not as loud as in year’s past.
“I don’t think any of us knew how many were coming and how many were not coming, we were simply trying to tweak the whole bike week so that quality of life would be a little bit more in the forefront.“ Gilland said the low turnout was likely the result of the struggling economy, Myrtle Beach’s new laws, and the county’s changes when it came to vendors.
But she said the impact of what Myrtle Beach council did when it passed new laws in February, designed to curtail the rallies, hurt the beach economically and people in the county.
“People that come here don’t know where the lines are, they don’t know when, where one municipality begins and another ends and where the county is, so it’s all Myrtle Beach to them, and so there is an impact simply from what Myrtle Beach did, but certainly what the county did sort of just stirred it a little more with some of the bikers, I think.”
Gilland said it will take a while to recover the money businesses lost, but with new sources of revenue coming to the area like the ACC baseball tournament in 2011, 2012, and 2013 and Myrtle Beach’s Military Appreciation Days, the money will come back.
“We will find other ways to bring the crowd back that used to come before the bike rallies got so large and they left us because the bike rallies were too large for their comfort.” Gilland said the county does not have any intentions of raising taxes like Myrtle Beach did. Gilland also said if the county council and Myrtle Beach council had done nothing to scale back the rally, attendance would probably still have been down because of the economy.
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BUT HEY SHE DID SAY LIKE ,THE MAYOR YOU CAN GET SOME OF IT BACK IN 2011???.BET THOSE BABSEBALL TORNAMENTS WILL REALLY BRING IN ALOT.I WONDER,WHAT DO THEY DO BEWTEEN NOW AND 2011???
Correction.
Sorry but that was supposed to have read Spin her head around three times, push both the yes and now buttons at the same time, and resign her position. It is the only noble thing she could do, in light of losing all her creditability. I think in politics it is referred to as being a lame dog.
She might think that people do not know where the line is, but if she had any common sense she would realize that most of the motorcycle tourist knew where the line was last week when they made it clear that Myrtle Beach is under a boycott and has been for over six months now. And the media can keep it out of the press all they like but the fact is the boycott has now grown to epic proportions and will not end anytime soon. Most of us know she crossed the line when she worked so hard to raise the vendor fees and drastically cut the number of venders in Horry County just before the spring rally was to take place. And when all these small business professionals ask her to simply postpone any vendor action until after the spring rally she refused. She must be so arrogant that she thinks that the rest of us are as stupid as the people that used to support her. She was the one that has done the most harm to everyone, since after all it was here that started all this with Councils greed for the all mighty dollar. It was her and her henchmen that expanded the 4 day vendor permits to ten day vendor permits. And that is when the rallys started to get much larger and that is when Myrtle Beach failed to keep up and maintain control. Now every one can clearly see that she is nothing more than a back pedaling politician when she gets up their and try’s to spin this kind of garbage. Shame on her. I think it is time for her to close her eyes. Spin around three times, push both the yes and now button at the same time, and resign her position. It is the only noble thing she could do, in light of losing all her creditability. I think in politics it is referred to as being a lame dog.
I am so absolutely annoyed by these “news flashes” that Myrtle Beach lost money due to less bikers last week. DUH! Council has spent the last 360 days implementing every device they could come up with to repel the bikers. And you were surprised they didn’t show?????????? PLEASE! The really bad part is that it’s not only Horry County that was hurt by this decline. Every border county lost out as well. The “powers that be” have made numerous mistakes regarding the rallies. Plus, I hate to say it but an ACC tournament 2 years from now wont help the small businesses that are forced to close their doors in the mean time!
I think Mayor Rhodes and the Horry County Council have made a huge mistake. The bikers bring in a LOT of money that the county and local business owners need and depend on. Yes there’s noise and traffic for those couple of weeks, but GET OVER IT!! If the older residents don’t want traffic, then how about telling all tourists they are not welcome in Myrtle Beach. I have to sit in traffic all summer long because of tourists invading the beach, but I deal with it because this county needs the revenue. I don’t think it had anything to do with the noise or traffic… I think it had everything to do with the fact that we ride motorcycles period. Don’t forget, we are not thugs. We are doctors, lawyers and CEO’s of multi-million dollar companys. And we did not spend a dime in 09 because if you tell us we are not welcome, do you actually think we are going to come and spend our hard earned money to support you? I think you really need to think long and hard about the decisions you have made because the baseball tounament isnt going to make up for the HUGE money that the bikers normally spend in Myrtle Beach. It’s not just about pleasing a few old timers that don’t like to hear noise and have the traffic.
Ms.Gilland, now you’ve become a spin doctor. No guts, short on information, and need to be voted OUT. ACC baseball, their not here yet. A year and half is a long time coming. Organizations due change their minds. Sorta like the Seniors Golf Championship. GONE. Or were you here then ? G.
It is absolutely amazing to hear the Horry County and Myrtle Beach officials continue their blind comments about the bike rally causing people to avoid the area. There is no question that there are some but the vast majority of people who would be coming to the area during this time of year would come anyway. Since there has been no effort to allow the people to vote on this issue, it is obvious that a select few have chosen to impose their will through their positions. It is a horrendous misuse of power and now the area’s businesses and economy are going to suffer for it. And please, stop insulting the public’s intelligence by saying that the ACC Baseball tournament starting in 2011 is going to replace the lost revenue. You would have to bring in a hundered times or more the revenue from such events to make up for what has been lost. Please stop trying to make it sound like you’ve done the right thing. It’s painfully obvious that you’ve made a huge mistake. You all have forgotten what this area means to tourists. They come here to let their hair down and live it up for a short while. This area is a get away for them. You have successfully started to turn the area into a place to be avoided due to ridiculous restrictions. This is not an indusial based economy. THE AREA LIVES AND DIES FROM TOURISM! What part of this do you not understand?
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