Rutland motorcycle rally scrapped

RUTLAND, Vt. -- A late summer motorcycle rally that has pumped millions of dollars into the local economy for the past three years is being scrapped this year.


Kev-Marv Productions LLC, announced Thursday it was canceling the Killington Classic Motorcycle Rally.

"After a three-year run ... the Classic has come to an end," said Kev-Marv managing partner Kevin Clement. "It was a painfully difficult decision, but it had to be made."

During the first rally in 2003 about 1,000 bikers came from across the country. Last year there were more than 4,000 riders.

Most riders stayed in local hotels. For one night the streets of downtown Rutland were closed off for celebrations.

In his statement Clement said the rally wasn't making money.

"It's strictly a business decision," he said. "The preparations leading up to the rally combined with the staffing requirements and expenses just did not make sense."

Thomas Donahue of the Rutland Regional Chamber of Commerce said he was planning to get regional business and municipal leaders to work with Clement to keep the rally going.

"We could have used more notice," he said. "We need to use this as a serious wake-up call that we need to keep better tabs on the activities we have now in the region."

Donahue estimated that the 4,000 motorcyclists who visited the region last year spent about $1.3 million in area businesses.

"We were really hoping that it was going to continue to grow and become something like Americade at Lake George," Donahue said. "That's a gold mine for that town."

"It's a major disappointment," he added. "This was a good one."

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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/