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Nightclubs frustrated they can’t get extensions

RMOW stands firm on closing time, making it difficult for managers to compete for world-class talent

Michael Hofbauer knew he had "knocked the ball out of the park" when he convinced the world's best DJ to play at his nightclub during the Olympics.

Armin van Buuren consistently plays to crowds of 100,000 people and was voted the number one DJ by DJ Magazine in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Getting him to come to Whistler was as big as you get in the entertainment industry, said the manager of Garfinkel's.

"That is our part of putting Whistler on the map," he said with passion.

But, Hofbauer's ability to continue to bring in world-class entertainment like Van Buuren is being severely hampered by the municipality's policy on late night entertainment.

His frustration started during the Olympics, when the municipality told nightclubs they could only stay open for 30 minutes later than usual, rather than the hour nightclubs had hoped for.

That vexation continues today.

Last week, paralleling the Olympic decision, council decided that four nightclubs hosting concerts for the Crankworx Deraylor Music Festival could not stay open for an extra hour during three nights in August. Hofbauer along with managers at Maxx Fish, Moe Joe's and Tommy Africa's had all hoped to keep their doors open until 3 a.m. for acts like DJ Nu-Mark from Jurassic 5, Mike Relm and BCDC.

The municipality's main reasoning behind keeping the hours the same during the Olympics and Crankworx concerns policing costs, noise in the village and late-night transportation.

"Our staff recommendation is that the noise impacts would be serious," said Frank Savage, planner for the municipality, during last week's council meeting before council unanimously voted against the extension. "You can have lots of police and you can maintain safety and order, but you can't keep noise down. We get complaints with the 2 a.m. closing and we know we would be getting more with 3 a.m."

The mayor added last week that the Hotel Association also has concerns about the late night noise and family unfriendly activities.

"I know my son has experienced the unsafe nature of the village and it is quite scary as a parent," said the mayor.  "I am not convinced that even with more police we can get a safer village."

But Hofbauer says these policies are handcuffing the talent that nightclub operators can bring in.

"Garf's has knocked the ball out of the park in terms of booking entertainment," said the Garfinkel's manager. "For that to get looked over and passed over because people are afraid of a couple noise complaints late at night is absurd."

He said the situation is more frustrating because all of the reasons the municipality brought up when deciding not to grant a full hour extension during the Olympics - like rowdy noise and transportation issues - were not issues during the Games.

"They (the municipality) are basing things on guesses that were, in my mind, relatively uneducated guesses, and unfortunately, their guesses were wrong," he said.

Hofbauer's grievances are shared by other members of the nightclub scene in Whistler.

Most nightclubs didn't do as well as they thought they were going to do during the Olympics. Moreover, they are scrambling to compete for talent with Vancouver and other places in North America that can serve liquor until 3 a.m. or later.

Joey Gibbons, head of the Whistler Night Club Association and owner of four bars through Gibbons Hospitality, said the frustration stems from the fact that Whistler sold the Olympics as a great celebration and party.

Meanwhile everything the community has asked the nightclubs to do to ensure peace and safety they are doing, said Gibbons.

"When these bars bring in this world-class talent to a world-class resort, we are shutting things down at an hour that makes it difficult for these people to make a return," said Gibbons. "They stop bringing in the acts. That is the frustration."

He said in the case of Crankworx, it is important to look at who is in town during that weekend and what they need for entertainment.

Crankworx has a lot of big sponsors coming in, he said, who are putting on events and really celebrating.

"I think right now to get our village back to being full, we have to be fairly flexible and do a really good job of making sure we do everything we possibly can to entertain to the highest level every person coming into town," said Gibbons. "We have to really understand the demographic coming into town and look after them."

The nightclubs' frustration is further compounded by the hard times felt by business throughout the resort municipality.

Hofbauer has met with Fiona Famulak, president of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, to discuss the issue.

He added it is important for the community to remember that even though times are tough, the nightclubs aren't recreating the "bar wars" of the mid-to-late 1990s.

Back then, low business levels caused nightclubs to drop drink prices to entice patrons into their establishment. The result was high levels of drunken and violent behaviour throughout the village.

"The times are tougher than they were then, and now we are working hard to do good, clean work," Hofbauer said. "There is no seedy underbelly of an industry up here. There are no gangsters, there is no violence."

Brenton Smith from Maxx Fish and O&R Entertainment echoed his sentiments. The way Smith sees it, the face of Whistler has changed.

"Whether that is from the changing face of the community or the changing face of municipal staff, I couldn't tell you," said Smith.

"I do know the resort is having a tough time right now, as I am sure most resorts are, and I don't know if I can attribute the new face to the frustrating business levels, but it is certainly worth looking at."

He added that in this day and age, council and municipal staff should be "open and willing to try all avenues before condemning them."

Added Gibbons: "I think the RMOW have listened and are working to try and find a way to work with us.

"We do have a good relationship with the RCMP right now, and they are looking at ways to try and figure out how to make this happen," he said.

"We have to work together, all of us. That means bars with hotels, restaurants and retail, to making sure the customers who come here are well looked after."