New bike rally report shows Hollister hosted rally at a loss

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION-TV) - The Hollister City Council heard a report on the financials of this year's Independence Day Bike Rally.

After voters brought it back for 2025, the report showed that 16,500 visitors came to Hollister over the two days, according to the Downtown Hollister Association.

Overall, a projected $458,000 in revenue was generated while the city spent $648,000 to host the rally, resulting in a total cost of more than $199,000 for the bike rally.

The city's mayor, Roxanne Stephens, continues to throw her support behind the rally.

"When you are trying to spur an economy, you have to latch on to something," Mayor Stephens said. "If you're in Napa, your asset is wine, right? If you're in Santa Cruz, the asset is the beaches. Each community has an asset or a way that they identify that they have to tap into. This is ours."

The council had previously approved a cost of $200,000 for the rally.

Now they're looking forward to next year's rally, but with a roadmap and lessons learned from the 2025 revival.