Prairie Avenue in Inglewood doesn’t have the name brand of Wilshire or Sunset or Rodeo. But head down there many nights and it’s hard not to feel like you are cruising through the new epicenter of big budget sports and entertainment.
There’s the striking translucent shell of the $2-billion Intuit Dome. The mid-century glam of Kia Forum. And of course the $5-billion Sofi Stadium, which looks like a spaceship landed in the middle of the L.A. basin. Sofi is once again getting a close-up with the World Cup, the star of dramatic helicopter shots, anchor stand-ups and endless selfies.
But with World Cup excitement gripping Inglewood, I found myself taking in the view 20 miles south on a street called Harbor Plaza in the Port of Long Beach. This is a land of cranes and diesel big rigs and container boxes as far as the eye can see, along with the aging but still glorious Queen Mary anchored off the marina.
I was here to see a new venue that is everything those Inglewood titans are not.
Long Beach is not waiting for Daddy Warbucks
It’s called the F&M Bank Amphitheater, an 11,000-seat temporary waterfront that challenges the mantra that architecture and glamour and money are they keys to modern urban planning.
The Long Beach deal is stripped down and basic. No swooping lines, no luxury sky boxes or LED light displays. Just a few bleachers, a stage and a lot of temporary fencing. It’s so stark I found it difficult to capture for Instagram as I walked around its perimeter Thursday.
But that’s not the point. The F&M Bank Amphitheater is already drawing praise and curiosity because of its basic feel and purity of purpose. It cost a mere $21 million and is expected to be operating for 10 years, according to the LB Post. It opened to Snoop Dogg and this weekend is hosting Zombie Apocalypse, which explains all the life-size skeletons being transported around in golf carts.
Mayor Rex Richardson told The Times last month it’s a proof of concept and a way to draw acts to the city as officials work to build a permanent “Long Beach Bowl.” It “represents a direction to invest in our city’s future, to embrace our creative economy [and] to shape how people experience Long Beach,” he said.
And Long Beach did it without global corporations, “starchitects” or billionaire benefactors.
The city has some prime waterfront real estate but has struggled for decades to get the big boys interested in developing it. In the 1990s, Long Beach danced with Disney over plans — eventually aborted — to build a $2 billion theme park on the site of the Queen Mary. More recently, there have been efforts to lure the Angels to a seaside stadium.
Will Long Beach ever hit the Inglewood jackpot?
Maybe. But the city seems to be saying we’re not just going to wait around for Daddy Warbucks to come along. Officials hope to eventually replace F&M Bank Amphitheater with a grander facility akin to San Diego’s stunning Rady Shell, which is perched on San Diego‘s Embarcadero Marina but cost $85 million.
Do we need the ‘starchitects’ and billionaire benefactors?
It’s impressive to see what ambition, daring, money and creativity can bring to urban spaces. Just look at the new LACMA complex, Disney Hall, the Broad. Or go to Manhattan, where mogul Barry Diller built a $260-million island park off the Hudson River.
This kind of investment can change geography, as Inglewood shows.
The World Cup is only increasing the hype, with Mayor James Butts declaring this week, “we’re an international city now.”
But with the money comes the politics. Some parts of Inglewood complain they are not seeing the lift from all those visitors. As the LA Local has been reporting, the city is now engaged in a $400-million battle with the L.A. Rams owner over improvement reimbursements.
Long Beach might dream of having those problems. But they’ve shown their own brand of low-budget municipal daring.
This week’s top stories
Vance takes a beating over Iran
The shocking B-52 crash
- A B-52 “burst into flames” after a sudden crash, killing 8, during a “routine test mission” at Edwards Air Force Base.
- Families of the victims spoke to us about their loved ones. “I just wish I could’ve kept him longer.”
- The B-52 bomber is an iconic, aging warhorse. A probe of fatal crash could influence its future.
Another toxic chemical crisis
LAPD killing of family dog
- The LAPD killing of a family dog wearing a Knicks shirt has sparked outrage.
- A video widely shared on social media shows the dog’s owner sobbing in the hallway of the apartment complex, hugging Jameson as six L.A. police officers stand nearby.
- “We just don’t know why it happened,” the dog owner’s sister said. “What’s more scary is that those shots could have hit her or anyone. It was reckless.”
Don’t forget: Tomorrow is Father’s Day
What else is going on
- L.A. Times Short Documentaries latest came out Friday: I Got My Brother.
- The U.S. beat Australia, advancing to the World Cup knockout round.
- Giants players’ Pride Night protest now involves backlash from all sides.
- A bear clawed a 19-year-old’s face and chest through the window of his Crestline home.
- A member of the Lion family, which runs a massive CA raisin company, is facing hate crime charges after he allegedly terrorized his Jewish neighbors in Pacific Palisades.
- A political watchdog fined Newsom for failing to report $5.5M in solicited donations on time.
- A landmark downtown apartment tower faces foreclosure.
Saturday reading
Other must reads
For your downtime
The Arroyo Seco flows parallel to multiple segments of the Gabrielino Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains.
(Los Angeles Times photo illustration; photo by Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
L.A. Timeless
A selection of the very best reads from The Times’ 143-year archive.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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