NBC San Diego (05/24/21) Raffa, Allie

San Diego's live event industry is awaiting the June 15 reopening of California's economy with anticipation. "We've been fortunate enough to take advantage of grants and outdoor space, but we've still seen a 70% hit to the business," said Paul Smith, owner of The Merrow in Hillcrest. To make up for a year of lost time, Smith and other venue operators are booking performers and events to be as ready as possible for the reopening. In Smith's case, a rethink of his business model was necessary to keep The Merrow in business and in compliance with state guidelines: "We turned the outdoor space — the parking lot outside — into a kind of a makeshift restaurant," Smith said. "We partnered up with three of the restaurants close to me and I ran it that way." Even with restrictions lifted, venues hosting mega events, defined by the state as events of more than 5,000 people indoors and more than 10,000 outdoors, must follow certain regulations. Indoor mega events must verify attendees' fully vaccinated status or a negative COVID-19 test result, while outdoor mega events will advise the same, or the wearing of masks. The San Diego Event Coalition's Kevin Hellman said the live event industry's travails during the pandemic will make its comeback all the more triumphant, because "people are supporting it more than they ever have."

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