Bull run promoter hoping to tie down five-year contract

"It was a great event, and we want to do it again and again every year," Immordino said.

The event was an attempt to emulate the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Some 600 runners were chased by stampeding cattle as thousands of spectators watched.

Immordino and local casino executives say they hope to hold the bull run over the July Fourth weekend next year on the Mesquite Rodeo Grounds within city limits. This month's bull run took place on the grounds of the Oasis Ranch and Gun Club, just across the state line in northwest Arizona.

The promoter is asking the Mesquite City Council to approve the use of the rodeo grounds and grant permission to hold the event in the city. Immordino and Mayor Ken Carter said they expected to bring the request before the council on Aug. 11.

"You can never tell what the City Council will do, but I can't imagine them rejecting this," said George Rapson, chief financial officer for Virgin River and Casablanca hotels in Mesquite.

The council voted 3-2 in May to allow the first bull run on Mesquite Boulevard, the town's main thoroughfare. State officials rejected that idea in June, ruling the event was an inappropriate and unsafe use of a state road. The event was then moved to the Arizona ranch.

Councilman Lyle Hughes, who voted against the event in May, said he remains skeptical the bull run will always be as safe for spectators and runners as it was this year. Three runners reported minor injuries, including a Las Vegas man whose T-shirt was sliced open by a bull's horn.

"I'm going to listen to what's being brought before us, but it's still my opinion that it's dangerous," said Hughes, who did not attend the bull run.

While the event lost about $8,000 for Immordino, he hopes to make up the difference in video sales and expects future events to make money.

"The media coverage was spectacular," Rapson said. "It accomplished building awareness of Mesquite."

Rapson would not disclose how much money the Mesquite Resort Association would have to pay for exclusive rights to future runs. The contract won't keep another company and city from hosting a running of the bulls, but Immordino owns the trademarked "Running of the Bulls America" name and logo.

The city council meeting is one day after Immordino is scheduled to return to court in the remote northern Arizona town of Mocassin to answer charges that he failed to secure the proper permits to hold the July event. He was arrested by Mohave County sheriff's officers hours after the bull run and jailed overnight in Mesquite after officers said he refused to sign his citation.

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