Businesses on American Heat Bike Weekend: Anything to rev economy Survey: Downtown owners want customers of any stripe, vehicle Mariecar Mendoza •

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http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100905/NEWS01/9050329/Businesses++Anything+to+rev+economy Businesses on American Heat Bike Weekend: Anything to rev economy Survey: Downtown owners want customers of any stripe, vehicle Mariecar Mendoza • The Desert Sun • September 5, 2010
An overwhelming number of downtown Palm Springs business owners want the city to expand a controversial motorcycle event, according to a recent survey.
Main Street Palm Springs, the business association of downtown and uptown Palm Springs, conducted a survey of downtown businesses about the upcoming American Heat Bike Weekend slated for Oct. 15-17.
Of the more than 150 businesses in the downtown area, 107 participated in the survey.
“I support anything that comes to Palm Springs. You can have a turtle race on Palm Canyon for all I care— as long as it brings people I'm for it,” said J.C. Constant, owner of Pomme Frite restaurant and treasurer/secretary for Main Street Palm Springs. “People are people, and money is money.”
Related Survey results
And while there was nearly a split on whether merchants believe the event actually benefits their business — 47.6 percent believe it helps boost business while 52.3 percent do not — the survey showed 75.7 percent support the American Heat Bike Weekend as a three-day event.
In 2009, due to a vote by the City Council to reduce the motorcycle weekend's share of the city special events budget by more than $9,000, the event was cut back to two days.
“I'm not real thrilled about the street being closed all three days,” said Cocky Cactus owner Laura Walsh, who added that a boost to business during the event is hit-or-miss some years. “But my theory is that, hopefully, when they see my store — whether they come in and buy or not — they'll remember it and come back.”
But nearly 72 percent did say they would rather see the event scaled back a little, only closing Palm Canyon Drive from Amado to Baristo roads instead of stretching out from Baristo to Alejo roads.
During its inaugural year in 2000, the event drew an estimated 40,000 people and pumped more than $1 million into the city's economy in 2001, city officials said.
“Everybody says Palm Springs looks like (a) ghost town,” said Larry Bitoni, owner of the English pub Hair of the Dog and The Naked Grape wine bar in Palm Springs.
“There's a lot of places going out of business in downtown, so if you want to stop it, you have to draw people to downtown and you have to offer them something — so we need more events like this.”