Sturgis North is on the move

It seems that Sturgis North is on the move.

A report in the Salmon Arm Observer says the B.C.-based motorcycle festival is leaving Salmon Arm in 2012, moving to the MotoPlex Speedway and Event Park in Spallumcheen, near Vernon.

The Sturgis North rally was plagued by controversy for much of last year, and even organizer Ray Sasseville admits he still owes $400,000 for this year’s festival. He says he’s hoping to make enough money from the festival this year to pay the bills, including those from last year, although he says that might take a couple of years.

The new location will allow the festival to run from a centralized location, which will be a bonus. One problem with the rally last year was the fact it was based in two separate locations.

This year’s rally will feature camping and classic rock bands again, including the Guess Who, the Stampeders, Nick Gilder, and Sweeney Todd, as well as the Edgar Winter Band from the U.S.; Sasseville hopes to have two headlining acts performing each night.

Sasseville and his associates managed to dodge any trouble from the original South Dakota-based Sturgis motorcycle rally last summer, despite the American festival’s growing attempts to trademark and crack down on unlicensed use of their name. They’re currently in court fighting clothing company Renegade Classics Corp. for using the Sturgis name. The American rally managed to win a similar case in court last summer. Sasseville and company had better hope they don’t show up on the U.S. rally’s radar – they could end up being the next guys in court.