COSTA MESA : Suit Seeks $1 Million for Loss of Concert

The Pacific Amphitheatre, which came under fire for holding concerts during last summer’s fair, has filed a lawsuit against the Orange County Fairgrounds seeking compensation for the loss of a concert during the fair’s run.

The lawsuit also seeks to keep the fair from extending its run beyond 14 days this summer. The Pacific Amphitheatre leases land from the fairgrounds.

The lawsuit seeks $1 million from the 32nd District Agricultural Assn., which oversees the fairgrounds, for the reported loss of the concert tour “Lollapalooza,” which was held later at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

Attorney Deborah M. Nessett, who represents Ned West Inc., the amphitheater’s owner, said the Pacific was close to signing the successful three-day concert, but publicity about traffic problems led concert promoters to move it to Irvine.

“We tried to book Lollapalooza and several other tours, but because of disputes over parking and bad press over traffic, they chose not to play at the amphitheater,” Nessett said.

“The major source of loss is related to the loss of Lollapalooza,” she said.

The Pacific was able to book concerts by Gloria Estefan, Guns N’ Roses and Joe Cocker during the fair’s run, which led city officials to add 50 street patrol officers to avoid a traffic nightmare for crowds attending events on the fairgrounds.

The Pacific Amphitheatre is allowed 5,000 parking spaces for its events, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court Jan. 17.

In addition, Nessett maintains in the lawsuit that those parking spaces were not made available to concert-goers during last year’s fair, forcing the amphitheater to obtain off-site parking and shuttle buses.

“No one was ever denied parking,” she said.

But “I was there, and I had seen people driving around for hours and say, ‘We want our money back.’ ”

Nessett does not know how many people were given refunds because of the parking situation.

Fairgrounds attorney Carol Squire could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit also seeks a court order to keep the fairgrounds from holding a 17-day fair this summer.

Fair officials have extended this year’s fair to celebrate its centennial.

But Nessett said the lease agreement between the fairgrounds and the amphitheater allows a maximum 14 days for the fair.

“They may try to extend it each and every year thereafter,” she said.

“They are cutting into days that we agreed to be our days. We saw the problem with parking last year, and if (the fair) is extended, we will face more severe parking problems,” Nessett said.

The fairgrounds board of directors last week rejected an offer by the Pacific Amphitheatre to pay the concert venue $500,000 for the next seven years in exchange for not scheduling concerts during the fair.

The offer was made in response to an initial offer by the fairgrounds to try to resolve the matter before the summer season.

While the lawsuit is pending, amphitheater officials are seeking to book concerts throughout the summer season, including during the summer fair, Nessett said.