Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007 - (Page 12)

Vital Signs ‘El Tour’ continued from page 11 “the riders feel like royalty when they’re going through because when they stop at an aid station, there’s always someone there to hold their bike while they stretch, wash their hands or whatever,” Franklin said. “they’re very well cared for.” Riders also find a warm welcome awaiting them at the finish line, where the PBaa and the downtown tucson Partnership stage the El tour downtown Fiesta. cyclists and fans enjoy food, entertainment and a spectacular multi-media show from Flam chen, a local performance artist troupe. this year’s Flam chen performance, entitled “amelia airborn’s aeronautic adventure” features guest artists wise Fool new Mexico, an all-women circus troupe using a full-size aerial truss. Local musical group the Molehill orkestrah will accompany the fiery acrobatics. the event, funded in part by the city of tucson, provides a grand finale for riders and non-riders alike. the fiesta caps off the El tour Expo, a festival that begins three days before the race. the downtown tucson Partnership’s purple-clad representatives will man a downtown information booth at the Expo and provide maintenance, security, and logistical support services throughout race day and the grand finale. Event organizer noé Gamez said the Fiesta is expected to attract 40,000 people to downtown tucson. “It’s a world-class event,” he said. “It’s an amazing show, and the whole thing has a real comprehensive community feel to it.” the scale of this year’s event shows just how far El tour has come since 1983, when fewer than 200 cyclists gathered near the intersection of sabino canyon and sunrise Roads to kick off the first ever El tour de tucson. For Edward “nippy” Feldhake III, that race marked his first attempt at competitive bike riding after a foot injury sidelined his promising amateur running career. “I didn’t know anything about shifting gears,” he said. “I rode one gear the whole way. It took me eight hours to finish, and I just about died,” nevertheless, he was invited by El tour founder Richard deBernardis to join a small group planning the following year’s ride. He helped introduce some of the trappings of competitive running to El tour, including the use of pull tag numbers and formal timing of riders. “It’s billed as a ride. But it has a start and a finish, you get an official time and the results are posted. It’s not meant to be a race, and yet it has that in it,” Feldhake said. Feldhake – who did eventually learn to shift gears – has ridden in every El tour since then. He’s seen the start/finish line of the full 109-mile course move from its original starting point to the Hilton El conquistador Hotel (then associated with sheraton) to its current home downtown. He’s also watched as the event grew more popular every year and assumed its current prominence in the community’s fall calendar. and while he’s since competed in cycling tours around the world, there’s no question about the event he considers the best of them all. “I’ve always called this the championship of the world,” Feldhake said. “there’s no prize money, but there’s a special feeling associated with winning El tour. It might not be as competitive as some events, but there’s a certain mystique about it that makes it very special.” m.o.u. to ensue by Lee Allen Decision on Convention Hotel Expected in November t he dream of one of four development teams vying to build a 700+ room tucson convention center headquarters hotel is about to become a contract reality, perhaps as early as the city council meeting on november 13th. the city issued a Request For Proposals in July seeking “development of a full-service, chain-affiliated convention center hotel with 700 or more rooms and related function space…in the Rio nuevo Revitalization district.” all bids were received by early september and a city-appointed five-member selection committee met with each development team while public comment was solicited. In late september, a public forum was held and members of the community were given an opportunity to view all the proposals and talk with the developer teams. a larger-than-expected crowd turned up on 9/27 indicating “many individuals recognize the importance of the project and are excited to see the hotel portion of the redevelopment planning move forward,” according to Jaret Barr, project manager and assistant to the city Manager. citizen attendees filled out nearly 100 comment cards that will accompany staff recommendations when the whole package is presented to the city council for final decision. “the majority of the comments revolved around the conceptual designs and what people thought of those The Hyatt concepts,” said Barr. “while the vast majority of those present were extremely positive about the process and seeing forward movement, there were differing opinions on which site plan or which concept people favored, although there was an understanding that these were preliminary concepts. the community will continue to have a chance to participate with the team selected to work through those issues.” among the nearly 100 written comments that were received at the public forum was one that urged: “at this point, a sand castle will do. Just push the start button.” that happened, and from slow and steady to warp speed didn’t take long. Following committee, city staff, and citizen input received in september, the four finalist groups were given a last opportunity to amend proposals in midoctober with decisive council action anticipated just days from now. no matter which proposal is chosen, it will involve a lot of details and some pretty big bucks. “the best proposal is not necessarily the largest nor the one with the least amount of public investment,” according to Barr in quotes from the actual RFP verbiage. “the best proposal will leverage public and private resources to maximize the opportunity of the site and build upon other existing and future developments in the downtown area.” The Hilton 12 downtown tucsonan.november.07

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007

Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007 Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Guide Yourself Through Open Studios Performance and Film Events Museums Historic Downtown Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007

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