Anaheim Convention Center: Significant measures have been taken, including ballroom seating spaced 6 feet apart, room capacity capped at 25%, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), mandatory mask wearing for employees and guests, and physical distancing.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — For most of the past year, the Anaheim Convention Center (ACC) has been used as a COVID patient treatment center for both testing and mass vaccinations. However, in addition to continuing to serve as a vaccination site, signs of trade show life have just appeared in a section of the facility, known as the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast. Over the weekend, Starpower Talent hosted a youth dance competition, its first non-medical, non-COVID-related event since the pandemic shut down the event industry in March 2020. And after a year without any live events, the ACC is set to host more than a dozen events and conventions in the coming months.
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Before the pandemic, the million-square-foot convention center regularly hosted more than 200 events, conventions and conferences a year, making it one of the city’s economic engines, drawing leisure travelers and business professionals who stay in hotels, shop and visit the Anaheim area.
“Event organizers and attendees can feel confident about their return to the Anaheim Convention Center,” said Tom Morton, executive director of Conventions, Sports and Entertainment for the City of Anaheim. “We have taken significant steps to prepare for the return of events, with Starpower being the first of many to come. At the same time, we are proud to play a leading role in reducing COVID cases by hosting the largest vaccination site in Orange County.”
Allaying concerns
To improve attendee comfort and concerns, the ACC has taken significant measures, including ballroom seating spaced 6 feet apart, room capacity capped at 25%, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), mandatory masking for employees and guests, and physical distancing.
And how did participants respond to these health and safety protocols?
“They’re following the new guidelines and protocols. Even though it’s a smaller event, it’s great to see some activity and people coming to Anaheim,” said Jay Burress, president and CEO of Visit Anaheim and chairman of the OCSC.
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“When California released reopening guidelines for outdoor and indoor youth and adult recreational sports, the Orange County Sports Commission (OSCS) remained steadfast in our efforts to continue attracting and booking customers,” Burress said. “We always knew that sports and amateur sports would be the first market to return due to the state’s guidelines, as well as the resiliency of the market and the pent-up demand from parents and their children who want to participate in these competitions. So we will see more of that throughout the summer months.”
“We are also experimenting with new ways to utilize outdoor spaces, including two large plazas, terraces and balconies. We may also integrate other venues for some bookings, such as the nearby Anaheim GardenWalk, Honda Center and Angel Stadium.”
Starpower: the first in a long series
For Anaheim, the Starpower competition is the first in a long line of upcoming events, which will include several OCSC dance and volleyball events. “This is a historic moment; it signals the beginning of recovery. I look at it as the beginning of the comeback, because it is,” Burress said. “We have to start somewhere and it’s a small group, but it will keep some people employed, it will bring business to the city and it just sends a signal to event planners everywhere that California is open for business again in the meetings and events world.”
Contact Jay Buress at jburress@visitanaheim.org (714) 765-2800