Tribune File/John Byrne - Bikers ride out of Sparks in September after a Hells Angels chapter president from California was shot and killed inside John Ascuaga’s Nugget. The event’s future remains uncertain, according to local officials thinking about the 2012 season.
However, no formal discussion was had about the tragic incidents that cut short the fall Street Vibrations motorcycle rally and the Reno National Championship Air Races.
TourMark Chairman and City Councilman Ron Schmitt said those talks will take place in the near future, before funding is approved for Street Vibrations next year. There are currently no plans to cancel the event in 2012.
TourMark officials are planning to meet next year with special events producers, such as Hot August Nights and the Reno Air Races, to discuss investment in the community and changes to next year’s season “in light of these horrific events,” Schmitt said.
Meanwhile, officials plan to ramp up the special events season next year, hoping to add as many as three new events to the calendar, including a watercraft race and show at the Sparks Marina and a marathon road race throughout the city.
Schmitt said that producers of both events attended a familiarization tour during the Nugget Best in the West Rib Cook-Off over Labor Day weekend and were impressed by the city’s infrastructure and capability for hosting such events.
In other news, TourMark officials accepted funding for a wayfinding master plan, which involves creating color-coded road signs to direct traffic to tourist-heavy areas of the city, such as the Sparks Marina and Victorian Square.
However, no funding source for installation of these signs has yet been identified, Schmitt said.
Finally, TourMark officials are considering hiring for the position of event recruiter, though more work is needed to flesh out the job description.
“We’re in new times now” with budget deficits, Schmitt said. “We need the biggest bang for our buck” when it comes to special events.
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