ConVis’ 2000 Report: Annual Attendance Up At Cultural Exhibits
Broadway/San Diego will now be the exclusive concert promoter at the San Diego Civic Theatre and Golden Hall.
Late last month, the San Diego Convention Center Corp.’s board of directors approved the three-year contract. According to Joe Kobryner, general manager of Broadway/San Diego, the contract guarantees that, as the concert promotion arm, Broadway/San Diego Concerts will pay $48,000 in rent to present at least 16 concerts during the first year, which runs March 1 through June 30, 2002.
There’s also an option to add one more concert each year of the contract, Kobryner said.
Broadway/San Diego and its owner, the Nederlander Organization, have been out of San Diego’s concert promotion scene for 13 years.
Getting back into it won’t be too tough, Kobryner said. Nederlander’s office in Los Angeles books venues such as Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre and Staples Center, and now will handle bookings in San Diego.
Kobryner expects the shows to be acts that would appeal to Broadway/San Diego’s more-mature audience, and shows that would fit the slightly smaller venues. The Civic Theatre has capacity of 3,000 and Golden Hall holds up to 4,000.
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Pleasant Pictures: According to tourism figures released by the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, arts and museum attendance increased 8.7 percent in 2000.
“Reaping the results” of Art + Sol, a culturally focused cooperative ad campaign coordinated by the bureau, is how ConVis President and CEO Reint Reinders put it.
“It makes it easier than ever for visitors to enrich their stay with a variety of cultural and performing arts activities,” Reinders said.
Special exhibitions helped to attract visitors, ConVis said. For instance, the Museum of Art’s two-month Norman Rockwell exhibit drew 154,210 visitors, a third of which were from out of town.
Checking In: “Nine-Ten” is the new name of the Grande Colonial Hotel’s restaurant, which is undergoing a $750,000 renovation. According to a spokeswoman for the La Jolla hotel, Chef Michael Stebner plans to serve seasonally based “market cuisine” in the restaurant, which has a 70-person capacity. Barona Casino recently paid $100,000 to become the title sponsor of Air Group One’s 7th annual World War II static air show, also known as “Wings Over Gillespie.” Air Group One is the local wing of the Confederate Air Force, a nonprofit headquartered in Midland, Texas, that preserves World War II history. This year’s event will be now be called “Barona Casino Wings Over Gillespie.” Sorrento Valley-based Trigild has taken over management of Wayward Lodge in Tucson, Ariz. The property had been foreclosed upon, and Trigild has been asked to make the property profitable and position it for sale. … Look for The Flower Fields in Carlsbad to open its season this year displaying a quarter-acre of the official All-America rose selections test garden surrounded by a “Walk of Fame” rose garden. Legoland California’s new Technic Coaster is scheduled for an April 4 opening.
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Spirit Of Hospitality: San Diego City Councilman George Stevens was among those honored at the San Diego County Hotel/Motel Association’s annual Gold Key Awards last month. Up on the stage presenting awards, Stevens found himself given one of the night’s biggest honors, the Gold Key award for contributions to local tourism from someone outside the industry. John Reid, the recently retired executive director of the Culligan Holiday Bowl, was given the “special visionary” award. Other winners included the California Restaurant Association’s Patricia Walsh as “Allied Person of the Year;” SeaWorld San Diego’s Macario Gonzalez as “Food & Beverage Person of the Year, Management;” the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort’s Noel Guanzon as “Salesperson of the Year;” Hornblower Cruises & Events’ Richard Goben as “Hospitality Employee of the Year;” Handlery Hotel’s Kirk Shearer as “Hotelperson of the Year”; Hyatt Regency Islandia’s Terri Gardela as “Food & Beverage Person of the Year, Non-Management;” and Hyatt Regency La Jolla’s Cheryl Schroer-Obayashi for the “Gina Cesena Award.”
The deadline for the next tourism & hospitality column is March 6. Rodrigues can be reached at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 107, or via e-mail at trodrigues@sdbj.com.
