Stater Bros. Route 66 Rendezvous
Paving the way for renewal
Officials view Rendezvous as giving SB something to build on
Robert Rogers, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County SunSAN BERNARDINO - Like the thick steel sides of the classic slabs of American machinery that make the event vroom, the Stater Bros. Route 66 Rendezvous has proved durable amid years of tough conditions.
Homicide rates in the city accelerated and the city's image suffered.
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The 35-block downtown core that hosts the event is economically torpid, pockmarked with vacant lots and buildings, and the homeless population may rival the number of people who own or rent there.
But every year, about 500,000 people flock to the Rendezvous from throughout region and across the nation to breathe the heady perfume of auto exhaust. They pump millions into the local economy, and organizers and city officials say the city's biggest street festival could be a major component of its revival.
The Rendezvous "is a precursor to what will one day happen in downtown year-round," said Mayor Pat Morris. "Not the half-million visitors, but thousands of people living in the downtown corridor, walking the sidewalks and enjoying all the advantages of living in an urban center replete with arts and culture."
The city has a number of projects poised to help invigorate the city economically and socially through the decade, all of which could directly or indirectly complement the Rendezvous and vice versa.
At Meadowbrook Park, a central point at this year's Rendezvous, which begins this evening, the city has offered 10 acres to the county in an effort to retain county government functions downtown.
The city Economic Development Agency is moving aggressively to acquire underutilized properties in and around downtown to facilitate development.
A series of housing developments and campus expansions are under way in and around Cal State San Bernardino, and the San Bernardino Convention and Visitors Bureau, which coordinates the Rendezvous, is poised to create a tourism gateway for visitors to the Inland Empire located near Hospitality Lane.
A transit center at Rialto Avenue and E Street is planned to shuttle thousands into the city via light rail and buses.
And all of it complements the city's old standby, the Rendezvous, which since the late 1980s has drawn locals and out-of-towners for fun, sun, cars and culture.
"There's a real change taking place downtown, and those changes are going to benefit this event (the Rendezvous), and this event will continue to benefit the city," said City Attorney James F. Penman.
The Rendezvous also has an intangible quality that is both nostalgic and optimistic about the future, said Jim Morris, the mayor's son and chief of staff.
"There are those who would say San Bernardino really enjoyed its economic heyday at the same time that cruising was popular," he said.
"And I think there's something to that. It gives people now a real sense of hope and optimism. The kind of year in, year out consistency we have in pulling off an incredibly safe and successful event is a sign that this city can return to prominence."
In what has become a ritual in advance of the Rendezvous, about 2,000 volunteers swept through the city Sept. 9 for the ninth annual citywide cleanup. The city's veneer is important, say officials who hope cleaner streets and spirited hosts outshine the negative publicity driven by a homicide rate that neared 60 last year.
"It works," Judi Penman, Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said of the city's efforts. "I know that the hotels are full, and we get many calls from people just wanting information about where to stay."
Virtually all agree that whatever the cause for its resiliency, the Rendezvous is working. Not only has attendance slowly and steadily risen, but the economic imprint of the event grows ever larger as well.
Regional economics expert John Husing of Redlands, who authored an economic-impact report for the city's tourism bureau last year, said the Rendezvous is one of a handful of major economic bright spots in San Bernardino.
Husing said downtown redevelopment, the Little League Western Regional Tournament, growth in and around Cal State San Bernardino and growth at San Bernardino International Airport are all positive signs, but the Rendezvous may be tops on the list.
"The Rendezvous gives the city something major to build on," Husing said. "It is the premier one because of the number of people who come and the economic impact they have."
Husing said the Rendezvous is critical because of the flimsy economic base it has had to endure since military and civilian manufacturers started fleeing the area in the late 1970s. The Rendezvous grows despite local economic weakness because it draws from so far away, he said. He estimates that the Rendezvous brings about $40 million into the city during its four-day run.
"These are new dollars injected into the city that otherwise would not be there," he said.
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The weekend Rendezvous is great, and it is a lot of fun, not to mention that it does inject a lot of money into the neighborhood and city businesses. The people that are involved in it and the people that go to look at the cars all have a great time, there is usually no fights or any kind of discontent that goes on there and it is just a fun time had by all. Next year should be more of the same "FUN" Just a lot of " FUN".
BSRanch
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