LAKEPORT — BoardStock creator and promoter Rob Stimmel signed a contract with the Big Valley Rancheria band of Pomo Indians late Monday night, clinching the Konocti Vista Casino, Resort & Marina venue in South Lakeport for this summer”s event.
“We are pleased to be able to keep BoardStock in Lake County,” said Big Valley Tribal Chair Valentino Jack in a Thursday evening press release. “This event brings a tremendous amount of exposure to the area, and we are proud to be a part of it,” said Jack.
He”s been in contact with Lake County Sheriff Rod Mitchell and said he plans to meet with him next week to talk about policing the event.
The 12th annual extreme sporting event was slated for its third year at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa in Kelseyville until manager Greg Bennett canceled it early in March because of problems with underage drinking at last year”s event.
“We have a good working relationship with the tribal leadership and I”m confident that they would be willing to offset any public safety services that the Sheriff”s Department might incur,” said Mitchell.
Concerns expressed about the kind of crowd the event draws squelched the idea of the City of Lakeport hosting the event, but not until almost three months of discussion. Division between those in support and those against were along the lines of what time of day the sporting events were held versus when arrests were made for out-of-hand behavior.
Asked in a March 7 Lakeport City Council public input session when most incidents requiring law enforcement attention took place, Mitchell said that more than half of the time stamps on arrests were in the evening.
BoardStock”s sporting events, including wakeboarding, wake surfing, slalom skiing and freestyle motocross jumping usually run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Jack said late Friday that all parties involved want to make the event alcohol-free. He”s been in contact with Lake County Sheriff Rod Mitchell, and plans to meet with him next week to brainstorm about safety issues and road access to the casino by way of Mission Rancheria Road, two lanes wide.
“I think they may end up coming up with some great ideas that are not just addressing their own sovereign land issues but community issues as well,” said Mitchell.
Jack and Marketing Manager David Arciero will also meet mid-week with Stimmel to address fencing and other particulars. “We”ve got a lot of details to work out,” said Stimmel, adding that he plans to meet with Big Valley every other weekend between now and the event, slated for September 27 through 30.
Stimmel said he doesn”t expect BoardStock”s following of professional athletes to dwindle much. “The athletes are very excited,” he said.
Because the World Wakeboarding Association is hosting the world championships of wakeboarding in Reno at the end of August, Stimmel doesn”t expect some of his international athletes to stay in the states another four weeks to compete at BoardStock.
When the event was held in mid-August in previous years, those athletes could easily transition from BoardStock to the WWA championships the following weekend, said Stimmel. He doesn”t expect the schedule change to make much of a dent this year, however.
“It”s actually better for slolum skiers,” he said, noting that there is another tournament in Northern California the week before BoardStock. He added that since event-goers would not have to buy concert tickets this year, he thinks the event will see a bigger field in wake surfing. “That makes it a lot more family-oriented,” he said.
“We want the people to come and enjoy the events without having to deal with the roudiness. That”s what we”re looking at,” said Jack.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
