Opinion: Time for Tahoe to embrace Hot August Nights

To the community,

I have participated with a classic car since the late ’80s in the Reno/Sparks Hot August Nights nostalgic car celebration that is said to draw as much as $300 million to that area just a stones throw away. The participants have all kinds of cars and most are quite valuable and some with paint jobs that cost in the tens of thousands. The car owners are generally middle aged and many are the retired boomers with money to spend.

In the last few days the news broke that after a year of upset about Long Beach being brought on board as a new venue for Hot August Nights they are now out. The city of Reno was run through the ringer about the Long Beach addition and many thought HAN might leave all together.

Instead of Tahoe being the kick-off city it was Long Beach and we were given a small spot starting before the Reno event Aug. 7-9. Last year Tahoe came alive with the hope of future expansion for the event. Everything went great in a very small way.

Harrah’s and Harveys did the wait and see and did little to promote the event and now with a Sunday-Tuesday probably wont do much again.

This should be a yearly car celebration that is the true kick-off to Reno. Many like the idea of being up in the cooler air and out of the Reno crowds. I know all our efforts are focused on Amgen, but if the people who survive up here had a clue about the potential of this massive event and the revenue it brings, they might finally do something that puts Tahoe on the another map and pumps us up like we should be. So often our struggling town just doesn’t get it right.

This door is open to a proven successful event that could and should be expanded upon. How to make that happen is anybody’s guess as we tend to go halfway with many things up here. Perhaps that could change.

Phil Blowney, South Lake Tahoe