L.A. Betting Big on the Super Bowl : Tourism: Civic and business leaders seize the opportunity to show the area in a positive light after a wave of bad publicity.

The troubled Los Angeles-area tourist industry has scored a big win with the Super Bowl: Hotels are booked, restaurants are jammed and rental cars are in hot demand.

But the game is not over. Tourism officials also see Sunday’s National Football League championship game, which will be beamed around the world and funnel more than $150 million into the local economy, as a golden opportunity to recast the region’s problem-plagued image.

“Because of the riots, it became more critical for us to have an event like this to demonstrate to the country and to the world that we are safe . . . that we didn’t burn down the whole place,” said Super Bowl XXVII Host Committee Chairman Sheldon Ausman.

Super Bowl boosters have spent about $4 million to stage the game and related events. The payoff could be big if visitors go away happy.

Corporate executives might be more inclined to book future meetings or business in the area. Large groups might also be swayed to hold major conventions here. But out-of-town journalists remain the most influential participants.

“A positive story portrayed in the press has twice the impact of a (paid) endorsement,” said Gary Sherwin, spokesman for the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Simply having the Super Bowl here is an implicit endorsement.”

Not leaving much to chance, Los Angeles tourism officials have supplied the 3,000 members of the media who are covering the game with elaborate press kits. The Convention & Visitors Bureau is also assisting reporters with interviews and story ideas.

A Super Bowl XXVII press badge opens the door to several parties, including a Thursday night affair for the media at Universal Studios.

Before heading off to cover the game, the press has been invited to Sunday brunch at the exclusive Brookside Country Club.

“If the media have a good time, our city will look great,” Ausman said.

While much of the coverage will focus on the game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, civic and business officials also expect plenty of upbeat travel and lifestyle features on the Los Angeles area.

Last Sunday, for example, the New York Times Travel section carried a long story on Pasadena, complete with hotel and restaurant listings.

“AM Buffalo,” a morning television show in the Upstate New York town, will feature stories on Marina del Rey, Hollywood revitalization efforts and a Marilyn Monroe tour of Los Angeles.

In downtown Los Angeles and throughout the area, special events and festivals will provide a colorful backdrop for residents, visitors and the media, showing the city at play.

“We are determined to have a lot more positive things happening,” said Donald J. Henderson, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles. “It gives us an opportunity to show the world that Los Angeles is altogether different than what they saw last year on CNN.”

But much of the media coverage is also bound to re-examine Los Angeles’ racial and economic woes.

A story that received wide national attention this week focused on the Los Angeles Police Department’s plans to deal with any violence related to the federal trial of police officers involved in the Rodney King beating.

“You are going to have some of these bad stories replayed again and again,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County. “Most of the visions you see of Los Angeles are the clips of the riots or the clips of the Rodney King beating.”

The excitement created by images of snow-capped mountains and swaying palm trees may fade quickly, said Judy Glunz, a spokeswoman for Minneapolis-based MLT Vacations, a package tour operator.

“Of course, during the event, there is interest in that destination . . . and (travelers) might start thinking about L.A. again,” Glunz said. “But I don’t think they will call their travel agent.”

Getting travelers to Los Angeles this week, however, has been easy.

Nearly every major downtown Los Angeles hotel will be filled this weekend. Avis says that 95% of its rental car fleet in the Los Angeles area has been reserved.

“It’s very critical to us,” said Kyser. “It’s not going to solve our problems overnight. But it’s one step to show that Los Angeles is still a good place to travel to and do business.”