Irvine Meadows Demolition on Track

A Superior Court judge Tuesday refused to block demolition of the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, setting up a high-stakes battle over the fate of Orange County’s premier outdoor concert venue.

The ruling by Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner clears the way for Los Angeles businessman Harry Shuster--who holds the master lease on the underlying property--to proceed with plans to obtain a demolition permit to level the 15,000-seat concert facility as part of an ongoing feud with the Irvine Co.

However, Shuster’s attorney, Brian Lysaght, downplayed the possibility of Shuster’s company, United Leisure Corp., going through with plans to dismantle the amphitheater. Rather, he said, obtaining the permits is part of a negotiating strategy to get the Irvine Co., which owns the property, to pay Shuster for improvements made over the years.

“It’s time for cooler heads to prevail,” Lysaght said. “We aren’t interested in tearing anything down. We just want to be fairly compensated.”

Shuster’s 29-year ground lease with the Irvine Co. allows him to remove any improvements to the 300-acres parcel near the El Toro Y when his lease expires Feb. 28. That clause has been hotly contested by Shuster’s subtenants on the property--Irvine Meadows and the Wild Rivers water park--whose owners spent millions constructing those facilities.

“I’m perplexed by the whole situation,” said Bob Geddes, a managing partner of Irvine Meadows after the ruling. “On one hand, [Shuster] says he doesn’t want to tear it down. On the other, he is pulling permits to tear it down. How are you supposed to read that?”

So far, the Irvine Co. has rebuffed Shuster’s requests to be compensated for bringing the two profitable tenants to the parcel. And it did not appear Tuesday that the development giant intends to pay up any time soon.

Harry Shuster “is not entitled to any compensation beyond the lease term,” said Irvine Co. spokesman Larry Thomas. “It would be crazy for us to give in to his mind-boggling, spiteful threats.”

Shuster last month asked the city for a demolition permit to dismantle the $10-million concert facility and the neighboring water park once his master lease expires. That prompted the owners of Irvine Meadows to obtain a temporary restraining order against Shuster and the city. The owners of Wild Rivers water park are seeking a similar injunction. That hearing is set for January.

Tuesday’s ruling will force the city to issue the demolition permit as long as Shuster’s company meets all the required health and safety requirements.

“Our hands are tied,” said City Councilman Mike Ward. “If the court says we have to issue a permit, we’ll issue a permit.”

Lysaght said United Leisure will seek the demolition paperwork within days. The company initially applied for a permit to level the amphitheater and the water park. A later application sought to remove only the seating of the amphitheater. Lysaght couldn’t confirm which type of permit United Leisure will seek.

Irvine Meadows attorney Ronald Brown said the amphitheater is considering additional legal action to prevent Shuster from obtaining the demolition permits. He said the concert facility will consider negotiating with Shuster, and expressed hope that nervous concert promoters will be swayed by Lysaght’s declaration that Shuster has no intention of demolishing Irvine Meadows.

“We’re assessing all our options,” Brown said. “The important thing is that Irvine Meadows will be around for the 1997 season.”

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Irvine Meadows is Orange County’s foremost open-air concert venue, and has hosted such high-profile acts as the Grateful Dead and Michael Jackson. In court papers, its owners have accused Shuster and a subsidiary of United Leisure Inc. of engaging in “extortionist tactics” by using the threat of demolition to wring undeserved economic concessions from the concert facility in the waning months of the master lease.

Shuster has denied those allegations and says he merely is asserting his rights under the terms of his ground lease. However, Shuster has made it clear that he desires compensation from the Irvine Co. in exchange for leaving the improvements in place.

The Irvine Co. will step in as landlord upon Shuster’s exit and has already negotiated lease extensions with Irvine Meadows and the water park.

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Bad blood has existed between Shuster and the Irvine Co. for a good portion of their 29-year relationship.

Shuster, founder of the now-defunct Lion Country Safari animal park formerly located on the site, has attempted for years to bring new investment and development to his leasehold after the safari park closed in 1984.

The Irvine Co. rejected many of those plans, compelling Shuster’s company to sue its landlord in 1987 for allegedly interfering with and harming its business.

In 1993, a jury awarded United Leisure $42 million in damages. But in April 1994, a judge ordered a new trial. United Leisure appealed the order and it could be many months before the court makes a final decision. A new trial could take years.