County Fair Board Sues to Rescind Amphitheater Sale

When the Orange County Fair Board bought the Pacific Amphitheatre two years ago, the plan was to reopen it as a gussied up showcase for classical music, jazz and light rock.

No more of the high-decibel rap and heavy metal that angered neighbors and mired the outdoor theater in more than a decade of lawsuits.

But Friday, after spending millions of dollars retooling sound equipment and remodeling, the board gave up, throwing the future of the amphitheater once again in doubt. The theater, located on the fairgrounds, is one of only three major concert venues in Orange County.

In a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court, the board accused the theater’s previous owner of misleading it about noise restrictions included in the sale and demanded that the 1993 purchase of the venue be rescinded and the $12.5-million purchase price returned.

“When acts find out that there is a court-imposed sound level most don’t want to work here,” said Jill Lloyd, spokeswoman for the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center. “They also don’t want to get involved with any of the community problems.”

Neil Papiano, attorney for the former owner, The Nederlander Organization, said he was shocked that the board wanted out of the arrangement.

“They were the ones who wanted to buy it from the Nederlanders. We were not trying to sell it,” said Papiano. “Sounds to me like they’ve got buyer’s remorse now.”

Fair officials wouldn’t disagree.

In the past two years, the board has spent about $4 million sprucing up the theater, buying new seats and curtains, and paying administrative costs, including extensive legal fees.

This month the much-anticipated reopening of the amphitheater was halted when it canceled the only concert it had scheduled for this year.

Fair officials said that they had to scratch the appearance of the Robert Cray Band and John Lee Hooker because they feared the show would exceed court-ordered noise limits.

Aside from use during the Orange County Fair, the Pacific Amphitheatre was the site of only four events this year: a Calvary Chapel Easter Service, a World War II commemoration ceremony, Costa Mesa High School’s graduation and a D.A.R.E Fair.

Lloyd said getting anyone to play music at the outdoor theater, once a major stop on many popular bands’ outdoor concert tours, has been extremely difficult. In addition to the noise restrictions, she said, the theater’s reputation has been tarnished by years of legal fights and changing ownership and management.

Lloyd said she did not know who would take over control of the Pacific Amphitheatre, should the court negate the 1993 sale. “Our concern right now is about getting our money back,” she said.

In the suit the Fair Board alleges that Nederlander had been disingenuous in the negotiations over the sale of the amphitheater and, specifically, that the previous owner knew the noise restrictions would render operation of the theater impossible.

Papiano denied the allegation, saying fair officials publicly supported placing sound restrictions on all future events at the Pacific Amphitheatre.

“They were the ones who wanted it to be restricted and they got what they wanted,” Papiano said. “There was no secret about the sound because that had all been discussed in the courts over about five years of lawsuits.”