Daily Business Report — Oct. 8, 2010

Vote for the Most Admired Company

San Diego Metropolitan Magazine is soliciting nominations for the 15 Most Admired Companies in San Diego County. The winning companies will be profiled in the December issue of the magazine. To nominate a company, fill out the form on our Website: sandiegometro.com. The deadline is Nov. 10. For more information, call Rebeca Page at (619) 906-4104 or send an e-mail to her at rebecarebecapage@sandiego.

Comic-Com Brings In The Loot

Comic-Con, the San Diego Convention Center’s largest annual event in terms of economic impact, attendance and hotel room use by attendees, is expected to generate an economic impact of $488.4 million between 2013 and 2015, according to a study released by the San Diego Convention Center Corp.

The study also showed that direct spending by attendees during the three convention years would total $203.4 million and hotel tax revenue would total $7.9 million. Sales tax revenue would total $442,000 and room nights would total 378,000.

Comic-Con International, the organization that produces the popular convention, recently agreed to keep the event in San Diego through 2015 — its current contract comes to an end in 2012 — despite heavy lobbying from Anaheim and Los Angeles. Hotel operators and city officials were able to keep the convention by offering larger hotel room blocks, discounted room rates and other incentives. “We are grateful to the hospitality community who came together and committed themselves to this effort,” said Carol Wallace, president and CEO of the San Diego Convention Center Corp.

In fiscal year 2009, Comic-Con delivered $162.8 million in regional economic impact and $67.8 million in direct spending by attendees, according to convention center officials.

A study commissioned by the convention center corporation using 2008 data showed that more than half of Comic-Con attendees stay in hotels and an estimated 126,000 hotel room nights are used by people staying an average of 4.1 nights at a rate of $199. The study said spending on hotel rooms alone was $25 million, which translates into more than $2.6 million in hotel room taxes going into the city’s general fund. The study also showed that $147,000 in sales tax revenue was generated by Comic-Con attendees for that year.

The extension of the Comic-Con contract to 2015 comes at the same time that the convention center corporation is moving ahead on plans to expand the convention center, a project that would cost an estimated $750 million.

The proposed expansion would add 200,000 to 250,000 square feet of exhibit space, 100,000 square feet of meeting rooms and 80,000 square feet of multi-purpose ballrooms. A proposed hotel project would include 250-500 guest rooms, ballroom/meeting space, retail and parking.

In August, the convention center corporation named five architectural teams to compete for the right to design the expansion. Selection of the team to perform the work is expected this month.

The competing design teams are:

• Gensler in association with Steven Brubaker.

• Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendoff California Architects, P.C. (HNTB) in association with Tucker Sadler Architects and Joseph Wong Design Associates.

• LMN in association with Carrier Johnson and Hornberger + Worstell • Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.

• Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, Inc. in association with Martinez + Cutri and ARCHITECTS hanna gabriel wells.

The staff of the San Diego Port District, which is the landlord of the Covention Center property, is to select a consultant to conduct an environmental impact report on the proposed expansion. A consultant is expected to be selected in December.

The expansion is expected to generate $698 million of economic activity annually in addition to the $1.3 billion a year that the Convention Center already generates.

Richard Barton Named to UC President’s Advisory Council

Richard D. Barton, partner in the law firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, has been appointed to the University of California President’s Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion. He was appointed by UC President Mark Yudof. The council is comprised of 18 community representatives and campus-affiliated members from throughout the state. The council monitors and evaluates the progress of each campus in the university system in creating conditions of climate, culture and inclusion. Barton is the national chair of education for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). He began volunteering for the ADL in San Diego in 1992 and served as the chairman of the San Diego Regional Advisory Board from 1998-2002. Barton has represented health care providers in his law career for the past 25 years. He has served as litigation counsel on behalf of health systems, hospitals, physician groups and individual providers.

PriceSmart Renews Office Lease

PriceSmart Inc. has signed a 65-month lease renewal for 34,900 square feet of office space in CentreWest Plaza at 9740 Scranton Road in San Diego. Financial terms were not disclosed.  The lessor, AZNL-Centrewest LLC, was represented by Eric Vann and Brunson Howard of Cushman & Wakefield. The lessee, which owns and operates 27 warehouse clubs in 11 countries and one on U.S. territory, represented itself.

Sharp Coronado Hospital to be Honored

Sharp Coronado Hospital will receive special recognition from Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office at a ceremony on the hospital lawn at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 13. Mike Murphy, Sharp HealthCare CEO, and Marcia Hall, Sharp Coronado Hospital CEO, will be present to receive the letter of recognition from Charlene Zettel, director, Schwarzenegger’s San Diego office, honoring the hospital’s leadership in patient-centered care. The event is being held in conjunction with the Planetree organization’s Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month. Planetree is an international organization dedicated to personalizing, humanizing and demystifying the hospital experience for patients and their families. Sharp Coronado partnered with Planetree in 2002, and this year the hospital became the first facility in the nation to be re-designated for a second three-year period as a Planetree Designated Patient-Centered Hospital.

Commercial Leasing is BOMA Topic

Craig McMahon, an attorney with Tirey & St. John, will speak to the San Diego Building Owners & Managers Association on Oct. 12. He will talk about commercial lease issues and the new economy and on specific issues such as what to do when a tenant cannot pay its lease and how to recognize warning signs of troubled tenants. Registration for the event is at 8:30 a.m. at the La Jolla Marriott, 4240 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. The program begins at 9 a.m. The event is free for BOMA members and $45 for nonmembers. For more, visit bomasd.org.

PRSA Presents Special Awards

The San Diego/Imperial Counties chapter of the Public Relations Society of America announced the winners of four special awards given as part of the Edward L. Bernays Mark of Excellence Awards banquet. The Otto Bos Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Larry Thomas, retired senior vice president for The Irvine Co. The Deborah Baker Public Relations Professional of the Year Award was awarded to Mary Schmidt-Krebs, owner of MESA Integrated Marketing Inc. The Eva Irving Community Service Award was presented to Jim McBride, lecturer at San Diego State. The New Professional of the Year Award was given to April Harter, director of social media at Scribe Communications.

SCORE San Diego Small Business Workshops

Fees range from $29 to $109 depending on the program.

• Oct. 12 – Tax considerations for Small Businesses – Carlsbad – 9:30-11:30 a.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Oct. 13 – Business Plan 101: How to Develop Your Best Competitive Advantage – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $79, $89 at the door).

• Oct. 14 – Legal Issues: Contracts and Leases – 9 a.m. to noon at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Oct. 15 – How to Start and Manage Your Own Business – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 16 – QuickBooks Basic – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 18 – Internet Marketing 303: Social Media – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Oct. 19 – Financing Your Business – Carlsbad – 9:30 a.m. to noon at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Oct. 20 – Import/Export – 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Oct. 22 – Internet Marketing 302: E-mail Strategy – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Oct. 22 – Business Basics 101 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; FREE! Please pre-register).

Voting Set for Centre City Advisory Committee

Downtown San Diego residents and property and business owners will vote on Oct. 25-26 to elect 11 representatives to two-year terms on the Centre City Advisory Committee, an advisory group to the Centre City Development Corp. The CCAC reviews proposed Downtown redevelopment projects and plans as well as advises on such matters affecting Downtown as neighborhood development, public infrastructure, social issues, homelessness, crime and transportation needs.

The 11 available seats for this year’s elections are:

Communitywide Cultural Group Representative: 1 seat

Communitywide Civic Group Representative: 1 seat

Core/Columbia: Business Owner or Property Owner: 2 seats

Core/Columbia: Residential Owner Occupant or Tenant: 1 seat

Little Italy: Residential Owner Occupant: 1 seat

Little Italy: Residential Tenant: 1 seat

Little Italy: Business or Property Owner: 1 seat

East Village: Residential Owner Occupant: 1 seat

East Village: Residential Tenant: 1 seat

East Village: Business Owner or Property Owner: 1 seat

Meet the candidates and vote at the Kickoff Event Oct. 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Sheila R. Hardin Downtown Information Center. Voting continues Oct. 26 from noon to 6:30 p.m. at three voting stations Downtown: Sheila R. Hardin Downtown Information Center, 193 Horton Plaza (Level One above CVS/pharmacy);Venissimo Cheese, 871 G St. (between Eighth and Ninth avenues); and Caffe Italia 1704 India St. (between Date and Fir streets). For more information, call Brandon Nichols at (619) 533-7182.

The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. (619) 906-4104.