Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The Honda Hoot just wrapped up over in Knoxville, and it makes us here at Ashvegas long for the days when the Hoot would hit town.
My spywitnesses tell me that Charlie Keller, the director of the Hoot, recently met with Mayor Charles Worley to talk. Worley obviously wants the Hooters back. No report on whether any progress was made.
The Hoot is an annual gathering of Honda motorcyle riding enthusiasts. It was held in Ashvegas from 1994 to 2000, a time when the Hoot, and motorcyle riding in general, really grew with the general public. The event grew from about 1,200 riders its first year in Ashvegas to more than 7,000 riders in 2000.
Riders come here for the easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the best motorcycle-riding roads in the world. Yes, world. No other place can offer what Ashvegas can in terms of that easy access. Hooters want to come back.
But Ashvegas leaders didn’t know how good they had it. City leaders stumbled in trying to please the Hooters, who took their business over to Knoxville, where that city benefits from about a $20 million influx of cash during the week the well-heeled riders are in town.
What went wrong? The city wouldn’t give the Hoot a few incentives to stick around. I’m not big on giving business a free ride, but when a couple thousand tourists want to visit your town and drop big bucks, I think we can afford to offer a few breaks.
Back in 1999 and 2000, Keller wanted the city to waive a $27,000 rental fee for the Civic Center, and also complained that it wasn’t that great of a space for his vendors, anyway. Keller also wanted a break on downtown parking, complained that cops were harrassing riders and that the city was charging Hooters $9 for a dozen doughnuts. Yes, $9 a dozen.
The city said it would be setting a precedent by giving the Hoot a break on Civic Center rent. It made the same argument in refusing to offer a break on parking downtown. And it said the cost of the doughnuts included “labor” for set-up of the event.
