Amphitheater Concert Won’t Be Rescheduled

A request by the city that a major concert at Pacific Amphitheatre be rescheduled to avoid traffic jams during the Orange County Fair was rejected Thursday.

Costa Mesa city officials had hoped to avoid a repeat of the congestion that occurred the last time the amphitheater held a large concert during the fair, and had asked that a July 19 concert by pop singer Gloria Estefan be rescheduled. The fair runs from July 17 to 28 this year.

But the Orange County Fair Board on Thursday decided to allow the concert, Orange County Fair spokeswoman Jill Lloyd said.

Lloyd said amphitheater officials told the board they may be booking other acts during the 12-day run of the fair, and the amphitheater’s lease agreement clearly permits such simultaneous bookings.

City Manager Allan L. Roeder had warned that if the Estefan concert goes on as scheduled, police officers probably would not be available on a contract basis to provide additional security at either the concert or fair.

Fair board members “do understand the city probably will pull police support,” Lloyd said. But she added: “We have been negotiating with the Sheriff’s Department and believe we will be able to provide all the security we need.”

In 1986, a Beach Boys concert nearly filled the 1,765-seat amphitheater on a night when tens of thousands of visitors were pouring into the adjacent fairgrounds. The result was gridlock.