Bandit
01-10-2004, 08:06 PM
.: Apr 19, 2003 Copyright Windsor Star 2003)
Ask any one of the screaming adolescents at last Sunday's Avril Lavigne show in London the way to heaven and you'd get the same answer -- Gate 1 at the John Labatt Centre.
While city officials in Windsor have stubbed their toes for two decades and keep finding new reasons not to build an arena, London is well on its way to being a major concert and sports venue.
Avril Lavigne was the 21st show to sell out at the John Labatt Centre (JLC), which opened a mere six months ago. This is in a city which has traditionally looked east to Toronto or west to Detroit for its entertainment and in an earlier era all those disposable dollars were spent elsewhere.
The new arena has had huge spillover effect on the rest of downtown London's entertainment industry, from more and expanded restaurants, to operating profits (the first in many years) for the Grand Theatre and Orchestra London.
Among the other sellouts at JLC are B.B. King, World Wrestling Entertainment, Stars on Ice, the Righteous Brothers, Cher and the Hot Rod Monster Jam. Besides seating for 10,000-plus for major concerts, there's a small theatre format of just under 3,000 seats. That's where the likes of B.B. King and Natalie Cole have played and it's where the national touring production of the musical Cinderella will go in a couple of weeks.
A new arena may be Windsor's never-ending story, but in London fairytales come true almost weekly.
Halfway between here and Toronto, London has embraced its new multi-million dollar jewel. Lavigne sold out in a mere 19 minutes -- that's nearly 10,000 seats at $35 a piece, or about 500 tickets a minute. It took just 23 minutes to sell out Cher, the first major act there last fall.
Half of the 11 concerts since JLC opened in October have sold out.
The George Jones show on April 7 sold out, too and drew many ticket buyers from Windsor and Essex County, frustrated that the star didn't have a show in this area. An earlier World Wrestling Entertainment event drew two per cent of the audience directly from Windsor. Two per cent of those who attended the Cher show were from Michigan.
More than 80 per cent of the half-million people who have attended JLC events in its first six months of operation have come from the immediate London area. About 11 per cent come from other cities, mainly Kitchener and Toronto.
In London, the arena is a source of community pride and the success of a concert like Avril Lavigne's is breeding more success. There's a buzz in London.
"There's no doubt we needed something like this," said London Free Press reporter, Morris Dalla Costa, who has written stories about the arena and attended several events.
"Maybe the novelty will wear off in a year or so. But right now there's an excitement about being downtown that wasn't there before."
Cost of the structure varies depending on the source. Arena and city officials claim it's $45 million. But the city spent another $12 million assembling the land and there were some cost overruns. The price is more in the range of $57 million, according to some sources. At that price, it's nearly three times the cost of the arena Windsor was looking at.
But Holly Kjeldgaard, JLC assistant general manager, said the place has already started to pay for itself.
Every one of the 38 luxury suites at annual lease rates of $19,500-$31,500, as well as all 1,000 club seats at $1,000-a-year were snapped up before the place even opened its doors.
"Overall, I think everyone is pleased with the progress," said Kjeldgaard. "It has exceeded most people's expectations."
Interestingly, however, major firms like 3M, Ford of Canada and London Life all passed on the suites.
The decision to erect JLC wasn't unanimous. London city council voted 13-6 in early 2000 to go ahead with a business plan with Philadelphia's Global Spectrum. That's the same company picked by Windsor council, but, of course, those plans are moribund now.
The JLC hasn't lacked critics and the complaints have a familiar ring to them.
Apart from those who say the building isn't big enough, or too big, the loudest outcry is over the cost to London taxpayers. City manager George Duncan, who was concerned other essential services would suffer because of JLC's debt load, proposed a dramatic tax hike for 2003 of more than eight per cent. Council approved four per cent.
One councillor, Sandy Levin, predicted London will never make a penny on the building. "It's not an investment," he said. "It's like a car; it's an expense."
Levin went on to call his city's fascination with erecting showplaces "an edifice complex." London certainly doesn't have a lock on that.
The City of London had to come up with 77 per cent the cost of the structure (about $32 million) and land assembly and parking (about $12 million). It owns the building but leases it to London Civic Centre Corp. (LCCC), primarily made up of Global Spectrum, EllisDon Construction and the Toronto architectural firm, BBB. LCCC paid for 23 per cent of the building costs ($9.5 million).
By getting one of London's most visible corporate citizens, Labatt Breweries, to invest as a sponsor, some of the huge capital costs have been offset. Pepsi Canada is another major sponsor and both these companies get exclusive rights to concessions in return for sponsorship.
The city receives 20 per cent of profits for the first five years of the 50-year lease and gradually more over time.
Now that JLC is up and running, some minor problems are cropping up. Concourses are far too narrow for big rock concerts like Avril Lavigne -- eager kids crowd around souvenir tables opposite concession stands creating huge congestion. As well, there aren't enough escalators -- only four in not very accessible locations -- and the stairwells are steep.
Concession prices are high -- beer for $7, a "jumbo" hotdog for $3.50 -- but not out of range for similar operations.
On the plus side, however, there are more washrooms than are required by Ontario's building code and there is plenty of on and off-street parking.
[London population of about 337 318; its metropolitan area has a population of about 432,451 (2001). ]
Ask any one of the screaming adolescents at last Sunday's Avril Lavigne show in London the way to heaven and you'd get the same answer -- Gate 1 at the John Labatt Centre.
While city officials in Windsor have stubbed their toes for two decades and keep finding new reasons not to build an arena, London is well on its way to being a major concert and sports venue.
Avril Lavigne was the 21st show to sell out at the John Labatt Centre (JLC), which opened a mere six months ago. This is in a city which has traditionally looked east to Toronto or west to Detroit for its entertainment and in an earlier era all those disposable dollars were spent elsewhere.
The new arena has had huge spillover effect on the rest of downtown London's entertainment industry, from more and expanded restaurants, to operating profits (the first in many years) for the Grand Theatre and Orchestra London.
Among the other sellouts at JLC are B.B. King, World Wrestling Entertainment, Stars on Ice, the Righteous Brothers, Cher and the Hot Rod Monster Jam. Besides seating for 10,000-plus for major concerts, there's a small theatre format of just under 3,000 seats. That's where the likes of B.B. King and Natalie Cole have played and it's where the national touring production of the musical Cinderella will go in a couple of weeks.
A new arena may be Windsor's never-ending story, but in London fairytales come true almost weekly.
Halfway between here and Toronto, London has embraced its new multi-million dollar jewel. Lavigne sold out in a mere 19 minutes -- that's nearly 10,000 seats at $35 a piece, or about 500 tickets a minute. It took just 23 minutes to sell out Cher, the first major act there last fall.
Half of the 11 concerts since JLC opened in October have sold out.
The George Jones show on April 7 sold out, too and drew many ticket buyers from Windsor and Essex County, frustrated that the star didn't have a show in this area. An earlier World Wrestling Entertainment event drew two per cent of the audience directly from Windsor. Two per cent of those who attended the Cher show were from Michigan.
More than 80 per cent of the half-million people who have attended JLC events in its first six months of operation have come from the immediate London area. About 11 per cent come from other cities, mainly Kitchener and Toronto.
In London, the arena is a source of community pride and the success of a concert like Avril Lavigne's is breeding more success. There's a buzz in London.
"There's no doubt we needed something like this," said London Free Press reporter, Morris Dalla Costa, who has written stories about the arena and attended several events.
"Maybe the novelty will wear off in a year or so. But right now there's an excitement about being downtown that wasn't there before."
Cost of the structure varies depending on the source. Arena and city officials claim it's $45 million. But the city spent another $12 million assembling the land and there were some cost overruns. The price is more in the range of $57 million, according to some sources. At that price, it's nearly three times the cost of the arena Windsor was looking at.
But Holly Kjeldgaard, JLC assistant general manager, said the place has already started to pay for itself.
Every one of the 38 luxury suites at annual lease rates of $19,500-$31,500, as well as all 1,000 club seats at $1,000-a-year were snapped up before the place even opened its doors.
"Overall, I think everyone is pleased with the progress," said Kjeldgaard. "It has exceeded most people's expectations."
Interestingly, however, major firms like 3M, Ford of Canada and London Life all passed on the suites.
The decision to erect JLC wasn't unanimous. London city council voted 13-6 in early 2000 to go ahead with a business plan with Philadelphia's Global Spectrum. That's the same company picked by Windsor council, but, of course, those plans are moribund now.
The JLC hasn't lacked critics and the complaints have a familiar ring to them.
Apart from those who say the building isn't big enough, or too big, the loudest outcry is over the cost to London taxpayers. City manager George Duncan, who was concerned other essential services would suffer because of JLC's debt load, proposed a dramatic tax hike for 2003 of more than eight per cent. Council approved four per cent.
One councillor, Sandy Levin, predicted London will never make a penny on the building. "It's not an investment," he said. "It's like a car; it's an expense."
Levin went on to call his city's fascination with erecting showplaces "an edifice complex." London certainly doesn't have a lock on that.
The City of London had to come up with 77 per cent the cost of the structure (about $32 million) and land assembly and parking (about $12 million). It owns the building but leases it to London Civic Centre Corp. (LCCC), primarily made up of Global Spectrum, EllisDon Construction and the Toronto architectural firm, BBB. LCCC paid for 23 per cent of the building costs ($9.5 million).
By getting one of London's most visible corporate citizens, Labatt Breweries, to invest as a sponsor, some of the huge capital costs have been offset. Pepsi Canada is another major sponsor and both these companies get exclusive rights to concessions in return for sponsorship.
The city receives 20 per cent of profits for the first five years of the 50-year lease and gradually more over time.
Now that JLC is up and running, some minor problems are cropping up. Concourses are far too narrow for big rock concerts like Avril Lavigne -- eager kids crowd around souvenir tables opposite concession stands creating huge congestion. As well, there aren't enough escalators -- only four in not very accessible locations -- and the stairwells are steep.
Concession prices are high -- beer for $7, a "jumbo" hotdog for $3.50 -- but not out of range for similar operations.
On the plus side, however, there are more washrooms than are required by Ontario's building code and there is plenty of on and off-street parking.
[London population of about 337 318; its metropolitan area has a population of about 432,451 (2001). ]