The future of the largest motorcycle rally in Texas and a custom car show, both of which are typically held at the Travis County Exposition Center each year, is in question after their contracts with the venue ended and some of the new terms under discussion have the events’ organizers unhappy.



A major sticking point, organizers said, is that it’s possible they won’t have access to the Expo Center’s banquet hall next summer.

Travis County commissioners will vote Tuesday on whether to lease the banquet hall to the Travis County Central Appraisal District instead. The lease would be from May to August, making the banquet hall unavailable for the Republic of Texas biker rally, which would take place in June, and the Heat Wave car show, which is scheduled for July.



Organizers with both events said that not having access to the banquet hall could be a deal-breaker.

“If you had an aerial view of our event, you’d see there’s absolutely no room,” said ROT rally president Jerry Bragg. “We can’t eliminate any of the buildings and still put on a reasonable event. ... We’re squeezed for space as it is.”

If commissioners approve the agenda item on the banquet hall lease, “there won't be a ROT rally in 2019,” Bragg said. “If they decide to postpone the decision, there's room for negotiation.”

The same goes for Heat Wave, said David MacDonald, the show’s owner.

“TCCAD could go rent anywhere to do what they're doing,” MacDonald said. “They could rent an office building. I just don't see how it’s going to benefit the county by leasing it to themselves.”

Organizers with both Heat Wave and the ROT rally said their use of the Expo Center’s parking lot is also in question, which would further complicate their events’ logistics.

Travis County spokesman Hector Nieto said he could not talk about the status of the county’s negotiations with Heat Wave, but he said negotiations with ROT rally have stalled because organizers no longer want to work with staff and are now only communicating with county commissioners.

A staff-written summary of the commissioners’ agenda item says that they have not heard from ROT rally organizers since they got the proposed license agreement because “ROT did not like the rates.”

“In order for us to negotiate a contract with them, we need them at the table. ... We still have options available to them,” Nieto said.

Organizers with both Heat Wave and the ROT rally said they are unhappy with cost increases to the contract.

“The proposal they sent was ridiculous,” Bragg said, adding that Expo Center officials are now charging them as much for setup days as they do for event days, which leads to a substantial price increase.

Nieto said that’s due to market rates rising.

“Like everything else in Travis County, market value is going up, and we have a responsibility to the taxpayers to operate the facility in the black,” Nieto said.

MacDonald said Heat Wave organizers are looking into moving the show to Circuit of the Americas as an alternative to the Expo Center. Bragg said ROT rally organizers don't have time to find another location to host the event next year.

"At this late date, it's too late for us to plan an event somewhere else for 2019," Bragg said.