The City Council on Monday night will consider whether to extend the county's largest and longest-running marathon through 2010 -- just weeks after officials changed the name.
The renaming of the Pacific Shoreline Marathon to the Surf City USA Marathon is the latest effort in branding the city to lure more tourists.
"After more than a decade in our community, we're thrilled that the marathon has incorporated the Surf City USA brand name into its title,'' said Doug Traub, president of the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau.
Though the name has changed, the marathon will remain the same, starting on Pacific Coast Highway and runnning past the pier. It's on Super Bowl Sunday every year.
The bureau is in the midst of a campaign to make Huntington Beach a world-wide destination by obtaining trademarks to brand the community Surf City USA . So far, it has secured licensing deals and trademarks for exclusive use of the slogan on everything from bicycles to special events -- and now a marathon.
The campaign reignited a fight with Santa Cruz over who really is Surf City USA. In 2004 the bureau announced it had applied to register four trademarks to use the Surf City USA slogan for economic development, apparel, beach bags and printed materials.
In September, owners of two Santa Cruz shops received a letter from Huntington Beach demanding they stop selling T-shirts emblazoned with Surf City USA and Santa Cruz. Store owners sued the bureau, arguing that Huntington Beach's trademark does not apply. The parties are scheduled for mediation on July 12. Read more here.
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