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| South Bay Performing Arts Initiative seeks to promote and encourage a “state-of-the-art” Performing Arts Center on a 10-acre site at the northwest end of Hollywood Racetrack, across from the Forum. This site, located in the hub of Inglewood’s long recognized entertainment center, will provide the only world class performing arts venue between LAX and downtown Los Angeles. |
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This awesome task will require a unique relationship between the City of Inglewood, it's leading companies, citizens, civic groups and a number of Hollywood professionals.
Background A decade ago the Los Angeles Times noted a surprising trend in Southern California by proclaiming that… “Something clearly is stirring in the “hidden” towns and valleys of America. |
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The something stirring was a cultural eruption of Performing Arts Centers that propped up, almost one after another, across Southern California. First, it was the;
Besides sharing cultural ambitions, these Performing Art Centers were launched in hopes of revitalizing their economically depressed downtown sectors. Not too surprisingly, the costly Centers were greeted with an equal mixture of enthusiasm and skepticism. For every supporter who viewed them as a solution to sagging economies, an equal number feared their cities had bitten off more than it could chew! However, the jury is no longer out and the verdict is in—the centers have lived up to their expectations, and have made an appreciable impact in their local economies. Identifying the Need The IPAC project grew out of a need to seek and pursue alternative entertainment venues when the Lakers and Kings departed for downtown Los Angeles. Another motivation can be found in the Cultural Arts Master Plan, prepared by Department of Recreation and Community Services and adopted by the City Council, September 17, 1996. Primarily, the Plan recognized that Inglewood lacked suitable venues for professional quality visual and performing artists. Further, the Plan called for Inglewood to “…develop a multiuse Performing arts center or cluster that should include galleries, theaters, rehearsal rooms and classrooms… as a means for bringing art to the people and people to the art.” A History of Needs Growing into Action The desire to have a Performing Arts Center built and managed by a minority community within the greater Los Angeles Basin has been a long held wish for a number of Los Angeles political and civic leaders. All have been keenly aware that young fine arts aspirants in the inner-city community lacked the opportunity for developing and honing their skills in close proximity to where they live. Such ambitions would generally require trips to more affluent areas of Southern California to gain the training and exposure needed for advance career placements. Many of these civic leaders were also aware that other Southland cities, such as Lancaster, Cerritos, and Escondido had built full-scale Performing Art Centers with main theaters large enough to feature first-class Broadway-type musicals. These cities are currently enjoying a substantial increase in successful commercial development in the immediate vicinity of their centers. Consequently, a Performing Arts Center in Inglewood was seen as a possible catalyst for increased community in a long-ignored area of the South Bay Basin. A superior, first-class Performing Arts Center can create the needed momentum to expand and enhance other aspects of the city. There is ample evidence that consumers and tourists alike, look upon a city smart enough to attract and host a world-class production like, “The Lion King,” as being smart enough to provide superior restaurants, clothing stores and other high-end merchandise! The Inglewood Unified School District Program at IPAC The Inglewood Unified Performing Arts Program at IPAC will offer an extended High School Advance Studies Program for qualified students seeking a career in the Fine Arts. The Program will be likened to New York’s High School of the Performing Arts, which was featured on both television and film as “F.A.M.A.” The students will be afforded a “hands-on” experience in all aspects of the entertainment business, along with an opportunity to augment the technical staff of major Broadway plays and musicals at the Main Stage. Raising the Bar Inglewood can upgrade its community image by investing in the “strong suite” of its people. The Inglewood Performing Arts Center will provide People of Color with a doorway to the global economy and the new frontier of theatrical presentations—digital distribution of live stage performances—that will revolutionize the entertainment industry. This technological advance, coupled with Inglewood’s close proximity to the Hollywood industry, will draw high-profile stars looking to augment their film and television careers with legitimate stage performances. Further, IPAC’s unique imprint will make it possible for the following groundbreaking opportunities:
Since Southern California is now twice as dependent on entertainment-related work than a decade ago, Inglewood can become the new Hollywood by achieving these goals. Can Art be a Catalyst for Revitalizing Inglewood? The degree to which the new Inglewood Performing Arts Center, besides being a success in it’s own right, will contribute to developing pedestrian-oriented retail and other commercial space in the immediate area, taking into account the many factors which influence real estate decisions. Most star-studded, first-class Broadway touring productions are usually booked at the The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles, Panatages in Hollywood, The Cerritos Center in Cerritos, South Coast Performing Arts Center in Orange County, or The Lancaster Performing Arts Center in Lancaster. All but two of these sites were built within the last ten to fifteen years, and the rest were built in the 90s. The surge in Performing Arts Center construction can be traced to the increase among better-financed older citizens, who have shown a preference for legitimate theater over youth-oriented movies. Therefore, city officials in the aforementioned areas have joined in viewing arts centers as a viable strategy for urban renewal. Location, Location, Location! While Performing Arts Centers have spread all over Southern California, separated in some cases by a mere ten-to-fifteen miles, none of them are blessed with the strategic location of the proposed Inglewood Performing Arts Center. Namely, the advantage of having an arts center situated within two miles from LAX, one of the world’s leading International Airports. |
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The Lax Factor The plans for LAX expansion, if achieved, can make the Inglewood Performing Arts Center an immediate success! The anticipated 75-million passengers arriving annually at LAX can be source of an economic boom in Southern California and Inglewood in particular. |
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While noting the controversy concerning increased noise, there is always, the possibility that technological advances in aircraft engine design will drastically reduce future noise levels. Inglewood, however, can achieve optimum benefit from seeking to attract a minimum of three (3) percent of the 75-plus million LAX passengers forecasted to utilize the terminal in the next decade. This translates into 6,000 visitors, on average, each day, who would be encouraged to see Inglewood as the “first, and last place” to spend money and time upon arriving and before leaving LAX. |
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The Forum Factor A few years ago the Great Western Forum was purchased by Faith Central Church. Currently, plans have called for the Forum to be revamped and refurbished with proposed convention center and hotel, which will be largely outsized in competition from the downtown Los Angeles market. |
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Convention goers, however, are highly desirable visitor because they spend 14 times more per capita on meals and shopping than do local event attendees. The planned construction of an adjoining convention-serving hotel and expanded Convention Center exhibit space at The Forum is intended to attract more national events and consequently more out-of-town attendees. Based on current attendance demographics, known Conventioneer habits and assuming that a third of total spending occurs within walking or shuttle distance of the attended event, we estimate that the Convention Center segment will contribute $3-to-$5 million to restaurant and $2.5 million to retail/entertainment in the surrounding areas of Inglewood. However, a possible idea would be to use a portion of the Forum to develop the first ever “Woman’s Sports Hall of Fame,” exhibit. Since a number of world-class athletes have come from California, having an important sports tribute in Inglewood is a rational concept. Further, it could well be the first such exhibit in the world and could be an important means for drawing millions of additional tourist to The Forum, Inglewood, and the Inglewood Performing Arts Center. Achieving “Brand Association Enhancements” Admittedly, a “state-of-the-art” Performing Arts Center will be expensive, but the benefits to the city would far outweigh the costs! First and foremost, the Inglewood Performing Arts Center will afford the city to gain much needed “brand association enhancements,” which are essential to advancing the image and economic viability of an area. For example, while Inglewood has received sizable tax revenues from its long relationship with Hollywood Park Racetrack and Casino, and formerly from The Great Western Forum—there was very little residual or ancillary enhancement from hosting either of the two venues. Inglewood was simply the place where the Lakers and Kings played; or where the thoroughbreds’ race; or where you gamble at cards. Inglewood did not achieve the type of brand-association-enhancements like the City of Louisville, Kentucky, which hosts Churchill Downs Race Track (the home the Kentucky Derby, and parent company of Hollywood Park Race Track); or the City of Boston, which hosts The Boston Celtics; or Las Vegas, which hosts Las Vegas style gambling. Inglewood’s inability to gain optimum brand-association-enhancements is comparable with the City of Anaheim’s former problems with the California Angels. Anaheim was denied brand-association with the Angels until Gene Autry sold the baseball team to the Walt Disney Company. When Disney sought Anaheim’s redevelopment assistance to upgrade the stadium, the city leaders wisely extracted name-association from Disney in exchange for their financial aide. Hence, the baseball team became the Anaheim Angels and the city is on the fast track to receiving brand-association-enhancement! Unfortunately, the Lakers and Kings left Inglewood before the city could negotiate a similar brand-association-enhancement for itself. However, all is not lost. The city can soon achieve optimum benefits and exposure from The Inglewood Performing Arts Center! Since People of Color have a much longer history in the arts and entertainment than they do in sports, it’s only fitting that the Inglewood Performing Arts Center play a major role in upgrading the esthetic image of the city! Corporate Support and Sponsorship An additional source of financial support might be found among the many Inglewood-based corporations. Further, Inglewood has a number of conglomerates like Home Depot and Target, which have expansive public relations and community affairs divisions Of late, nationally ranked corporations have played a significant role in purchasing naming-rights on theaters, stadiums and arenas. This sum can be substantial, considering the $30 million paid by Kodak for the name-rights to the Academy Award Theater in Hollywood. Benefits to the entire community The Inglewood Performing Arts Center will benefit all segments of the community. Although downtown Inglewood has fallen behind other areas of the city economically—like the new shopping center on the east-end of Hollywood Park Still, the Inglewood Performing Arts Center, along with Market Street Culture Village, should go a long way toward attracting young, educated professional back to the area, which would offset Inglewood’s current imbalance favoring older residents. Creating a public-private partnership The impact of having four distinct commercial platforms in the arts center—two legitimate theaters, a high-class restaurant, and Sardi’s-like theater-bar and cabaret—under one umbrella should not be underestimated. Further, the opportunity to be a major distribution center for the advent of digital entertainment, creates an opportunity to attract Angelinos who would otherwise never have a reason to visit downtown Inglewood. The Process For Doing It Right Admittedly, The Inglewood Performing Arts Center will be a costly projec for the City of Inglewood . However, there are a number of options to lower the costs and the city’s risk exposure. Since a major portion of the costs can be achieved by floating "Tax Increment Bonds," which are paid from the receipts and income derived from the properities, obtaining a broad support for the project among the public is essential. Secondly, there should be an aggressive effort to achieve a major sponsorship commitment from a nationally ranked corporation. This can be accomplished by the city authorizing and establishing an exploratory committee, designed and structured along the lines of a previous “private-public” entity that was established to advance the early goals of the Downtown Market Street Revitalization Program. This committee, made up of professionals from the Entertainment Industry, Business and Commercial Development Industry will proceeds to align themselves with Corporations that have a proven track record in developing major goal oriented projects like The Inglewood Performing Arts Center. Utilizing a modest annual exploratory budget, the IPAC Development Committee will explore the following areas:
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