Coliseum Commission expects to lose almost $300,000 after canceling rave
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission is expected to lose $297,000 for the fiscal year that ends in June, the result of canceling the Electric Daisy Carnival rave.
The producer of the rave, Insomniac Inc., moved the Electric Daisy Carnival to Las Vegas following reports in The Times that Insomniac was also paying money to an employee at the commission, events manager Todd DeStefano. DeStefano's job with the commission was to help oversee security and emergency medical services at the Electric Daisy Carnival in 2010; a 15-year-old girl who had attended the event died of an Ecstasy overdose.
A report submitted to commissioners Wednesday said the Coliseum had anticipated more than $800,000 in profit from the Electric Daisy Carnival in 2011. The commission has also paid more than $135,000 in legal fees related to last year's controversial rave.
"This fiscal year's results will obviously be much poorer than we would have liked," John Sandbrook, the interim general manager, told commissioners. Sandbrook was hired last month after the resignation of longtime general manager Patrick Lynch, who quit following The Times' reports that he approved DeStefano's double employment.
The commission will get a financial boost, however, from UCLA, which announced last week that it will play a majority of its home basketball games at the Sports Arena next season while Pauley Pavilion is being renovated. The commission also runs the dilapidated Sports Arena, built in 1959. It is slated for demolition, but the commission has no funds to tear it down.
In other matters, commissioners took no action on a request by Sandbrook to loosen requirements they abruptly adopted in March. At that time, the commission voted to remove the general manager's authority to approve event contracts – and instead required a vote by the commission. Sandbrook wants to be able to approve last-minute filming requests.
"It's clearly an impractical way to operate long term," said commission President David Israel. He said commissioners may consider easing those requirements in the next few months.
--- Rong-Gong Lin II at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The producer of the rave, Insomniac Inc., moved the Electric Daisy Carnival to Las Vegas following reports in The Times that Insomniac was also paying money to an employee at the commission, events manager Todd DeStefano. DeStefano's job with the commission was to help oversee security and emergency medical services at the Electric Daisy Carnival in 2010; a 15-year-old girl who had attended the event died of an Ecstasy overdose.
A report submitted to commissioners Wednesday said the Coliseum had anticipated more than $800,000 in profit from the Electric Daisy Carnival in 2011. The commission has also paid more than $135,000 in legal fees related to last year's controversial rave.
"This fiscal year's results will obviously be much poorer than we would have liked," John Sandbrook, the interim general manager, told commissioners. Sandbrook was hired last month after the resignation of longtime general manager Patrick Lynch, who quit following The Times' reports that he approved DeStefano's double employment.
The commission will get a financial boost, however, from UCLA, which announced last week that it will play a majority of its home basketball games at the Sports Arena next season while Pauley Pavilion is being renovated. The commission also runs the dilapidated Sports Arena, built in 1959. It is slated for demolition, but the commission has no funds to tear it down.
In other matters, commissioners took no action on a request by Sandbrook to loosen requirements they abruptly adopted in March. At that time, the commission voted to remove the general manager's authority to approve event contracts – and instead required a vote by the commission. Sandbrook wants to be able to approve last-minute filming requests.
"It's clearly an impractical way to operate long term," said commission President David Israel. He said commissioners may consider easing those requirements in the next few months.
--- Rong-Gong Lin II at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
EDITOR'S PICKS:
Might want to do some fact checking, LA Times..... The girl didn't die of drug overdose. Classic sloppy journalism.
Posted by: Kim | April 14, 2011 at 09:22 AM
Not only will the Coliseum be loosing large amounts of money from this, Los Angeles itself will be loosing MILLIONS in revenue from all of the people that come to this amazing event. Also, it's sad that this event can not be brought up as a positive figure in our society, mainly because everything is focused on the negative. It sad that a 15 year old died, but blame it on her parents for not knowing where her daughter was and he friends for not watching her.
The Electric Daisy Carnival is what I look forward to every year. The massive amount of people that gather all under one area to enjoy MUSIC (The worlds top DJ's/Producers playing for us electronic music lovers) and each other! It truly is an experience of a life time for anyone to enjoy. Thank you Insomniac for putting so much effort in this and now let us enjoy a new chapter, VIVA LAS VEGAS!
BTW, Let us cancel all Dodger games as well now since we have an innocent man in a coma because of pathetic individuals who beat him! Also, what about a Justin Bieber concert where well over 100 people were sent to the hospital for rushing the gates.
See you in Vegas everyone!!
Posted by: Daniel | April 14, 2011 at 09:07 PM
Michael Jackson costed the city more than that because of Tim (AEG), giving to the mayor.
Posted by: Bill | April 15, 2011 at 01:04 PM