BARRETT-JACKSON TO BRING RENOWNED COLLECTOR CAR AUCTION TO OC FAIR & EVENT CENTER IN 2010

Hotels in Costa Mesa and neighboring Newport Beach, along with shopping centers, restaurants and other businesses catering to overnight guests, anticipate they will be very busy when the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company LLC, host of “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctionsâ„¢, comes to the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, June 25-27, 2010.

“We are delighted to welcome Barrett-Jackson to Orange County. This incredible signature event has the potential to be a serious economic engine for the county, and will certainly put us on the map from a national awareness perspective,” said Shaun Robinson, president of the Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau, at a recent reception held at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa where he is the general manager.

Robinson said the auction was a natural fit for Southern California and its famed car culture and will represent a considerable financial boost with millions of dollars in revenue to the county’s tourism industry that has been negatively affected by the economic downturn.

“We plan to work very closely with the county’s other hospitality professionals to build a strong partnership and a united front that we hope will benefit everyone involved,” said Robinson.

The Orange County edition of the auction will become the fourth annual Barrett-Jackson event, joining auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona; Palm Beach, Florida; and Las Vegas, Nevada. Annually, the auctions combined draw more than 300,000 attendees, sell more than 2,000 vehicles for a total of more than $112 million, and provide more than $6.5 million to local charities.

“We’re thrilled about the opportunity to work with the OC Fair & Event Center to launch a fourth Barrett-Jackson auction event,” noted Craig Jackson, Chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “The West Coast is packed with auto enthusiasts who follow Barrett-Jackson and are valuable and committed constituents of the collector car hobby.” Approximately 400 cars are expected to be sold during the inaugural year.

In the Barrett-Jackson tradition, the event would encompass the OC Fair & Event Center grounds and would include the famous collector car auction, sponsor promotions and displays, vendors, exhibitors, interactive demonstrations, and other festivities. The event dates have the auction taking place prior to the 2010 OC Super Fair.

Through its relationship with SPEED, Barrett-Jackson auctions are the subject of highly rated television programs that are telecast to a national audience with over 70 hours of live television and hundreds of hours of replays throughout the year.