The Los Angeles City Council has voted to allow Anschutz Entertainment Group to run the city's convention center, the first time in its 42 years of operation that it will be managed by a private company, according to the Los Angeles Times. The vote came amid concerns from local hoteliers that AEG would have an unfair advantage in filling its hotel rooms while booking conventions (it owns the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel complex near the convention center). However, according to AEG officials, hotel bookings would primarily be handled by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, a nonprofit organization that operates separately from AEG. In June, Pennsylvania-based SMG challenged the pending appointment of AEG, claiming the company didn't have enough experience to run the facility. That challenge was dismissed by the city council. The management company will be paid $250,000 as an annual management fee and can qualify for another $250,000 if it meets certain performance measures.
LA Starts the Year with Blockbuster News BY SHELLEY LEVITT POSTED JANUARY 18, 2017 / CALIFORNIA MEETINGS & EVENTS We’re only a couple of weeks into 2017, and already there’s tons of good news to celebrate in Los Angeles. (Some of it, however, comes at the expense of other great California cities.) The Chargers announced that they would be relocating from San Diego to LA beginning with the 2017 NFL season. Just 12 months earlier, the Rams had returned to Los Angeles after 20 years in St. Louis. And, so, after more than 20 years without an NFL team, LA suddenly has two. The City of Angels will also be the setting for Star Wars creator George Lucas’ $1-billion Museum of Narrative Art. LA had vied with both Chicago and San Francisco to host the museum, which will house the filmmaker’s sprawling collection of fine and popular art, including Star Wars and Hollywood memorabilia. The futuristic 275,000-square-foot George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will ...