Comic Con Wars: Revenge of L.A.

by Chris Eaton-

L.A. finally pipes up.

So after all the hubbub between San Diego and Anaheim over Comic Con, the third city in this dance has finally pipped  up to try to get a say in this ordeal.  How?  By copying what the other guys did.

The L.A. Convention Center opened their own Bring Comic Con Facebook page.  Coming in some what late into this argument, L.A. has given us their TOP REASONS list as to why Comic Con would work in their fare city.  Some of the highlight include:

Los Angeles … Simply has More Space
With more than 900,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space, the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) alone has 100,000 more square feet to offer Comic-Con than the current San Diego convention center. Not to mention, there are 15,000 parking spaces within half a mile of the LACC. Whether or not San Diego expands their convention center, the LACC stands out amongst all the convention centers in the nation thanks to the recent add-on of the adjacent 4,000,000-square-foot sports, entertainment and residential district … L.A. LIVE.

Los Angeles … Now has L.A. LIVE
The $2.5 billion entertainment and sports complex across the street from the LACC consists of the 7,100-seat NOKIA Theatre; the GRAMMY® Museum; Club NOKIA; an ESPN Zone with broadcast facilities; Lucky Strike Lanes; The Conga Room; and many of LA’s top restaurants including Katsuya, ROCK’N FISH, Rosa Mexicano, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, Trader Vic’s, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, and Yard House. Not to mention, the 54-story J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels opened earlier this year.

Los Angeles … Sets Convention Attendance Records
Conventions in LA are all about exceeding expectations. In the past couple of years, the City of Los Angeles helped several major events break attendance records and set the bar to even greater heights. For example, SIGGRAPH met in San Diego in 2007 and had 24,083 attendees. Their LA event in 2008 had a record 28,432 attendees. The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) held their July 2008 convention in LA and broke an attendance record that had been standing for 40 years. The 2009 NBTA Convention was held in San Diego … The 2008 LA record still stands.

Los Angeles … Is the Hub of the West Coast
As the world’s busiest origin and destination airport, LAX has more than 55 million people passing through every year. For Comic-Con attendees, flexibility is the name of the game with 80 domestic and international passenger carriers (including all major airlines) serving LAX. Here’s how we rank:

1. • - LAX (Los Angeles): 4,986 Flights per Week
   • - SAN (San Diego): 1,577 Flights per Week
   • - SNA (Anaheim): 818 Flights per Week

Following a recent $723.5 million renovation, the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) also leads the way as one of the city’s most innovative and impressive examples of conservation and preservation. CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT WHAT LAX WILL LOOK LIKE IN 2013.

Los Angeles … Has an Incredible Selection of Affordable Hotels
According to a survey conducted by Smith Travel Research, LA ranks as one of the most affordable top U.S. markets with an average daily room rate of $114 — well below the averages for San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago. When it comes to inventory, LA has twice as many hotels as both San Diego and Anaheim.

Los Angeles … Is Wired for the Web
As one of the most technologically advanced convention centers in the world, the LACC offers a facility-wide, gigabit-speed multimode fiber optic cabling backbone and wireless Internet availability throughout the building. Trade shows and events continually praise the LACC for its bandwidth and ability to transmit data at high speeds.

Los Angeles … Is Safer Than You Think
The violent crime rate for the City of Los Angeles has fallen 23 percent over the last five years. LA’s crime rate was ranked second lowest of the 10 cities with populations of one million or more.

Los Angeles … Has More than Just Cars
Metro operates an extensive system of bus lines, subway and light rail lines across LA County, with a combined daily ridership of 1.7 million people. Metro Rapid and DASH buses offer frequent stops in several areas, especially Downtown. In addition to long-distance Amtrak routes, LA’s landmark Union Station in Downtown serves two Metro subway lines (the Red and Purple Lines) and one light rail line (the Gold Line). Metrolink passenger trains also pass through Union Station and service five regional lines: Ventura County, Antelope Valley, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange County.

Los Angeles … Is Comic Book Store Heavy
There are 59 comic book stores within 10 miles of the LACC. CLICK HERE to check out 10 stores that are popular without being trendy, as some have been serving regular customers for decades

Arguments for Comic Con to hit LA.  Even though there’s already a L.A. Comic Con, a monthly one I might add.  Though much like Anaheim, they are mostly making arguments for their merritt and why they’d be better than San Diego.  I will say though, some of those “FACTS” are a bit misleading, and a few just seem dumb to put there.  The Comic Book Store Heavy point is almost moot. I know it’s cool to check out comic stores in other areas, but having a bunch of stores that are not exactly CLOSE to the location of a convention you want to host is some what pointless and just an points grab.

I’m not saying this to bash L.A.   As an Orange County resident (who grew up in L.A. county till the age of 13) I can attest that there’s a lot of cool shit in L.A.   Little Tokyo, Hollywood, ect.  But the problem with L.A. is that Downtown sucks, and as much as they claim that there are a shit ton of hotels, there are not NEARLY enough in walking distance of the convention center.  L.A. is a massive, spread out area, that, if your not from the SoCal area, is very misleading in structure.

Hopefully we’ll know in a few weeks what Comic Con decides on.  As this whole possible move has grown in both passion and obesity.