They built this city

Mike Sciacca

The prime piece of real estate that lies to the immediate south of

the Huntington Beach Pier was all but void of the usual beachgoers

Friday.

In their place was the skeleton of massive 20-foot bleachers and a

monstrous skate bowl.

The popular stretch of beach has been undergoing a major

transformation since July 15, the day work crews swung the first

hammer to begin construction of a “city on the sand” that is expected

to draw nearly 200,000 spectators during the next 10 days.

It will be difficult, once again, to find a prime spot on the

south side of the pier when the $225,000 Philips Fusion, the

country’s largest oceanfront action sports event, debuts.

The third annual Philips Fusion, which features the Honda Element

U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill, is an action sports,

technology and music festival that organizers say will attract more

than 600 world-class athletes.

“We’re excited to be back in Huntington Beach,” said James Leitz,

vice president of International Management Group X Sports, which in

2001 acquired the U.S. Open of Surfing from Bluetorch. “We’ve been

working 12-hour days trying to get this thing ready to run.”

On the fourth day on the project, more than 30 crewmen were

constructing bleachers that will eventually seat 7,000 spectators for

the surfing competitions.

They had also constructed the outer shell of a 68-foot-long,

46-foot-wide and 13-feet-deep Soul Bowl stadium that will hold

skateboard and BMX competitions.

A “best trick” street park will also be added.

What goes into building a temporary city on the beach can be

mind-boggling.

Materials are delivered at 6th Street and Pacific Coast Highway by

40 semi-trucks, 100 smaller trucks and five forklifts.

On average, the work crew needs to haul the materials 900 yards --

the equivalent of three football fields -- before any construction

can begin.

Overall, 50,000 square feet of flooring, 40,000 square feet of

blue AstroTurf, 2,000 square feet of fencing and 5,000 linear feet of

handicap accessible pathway will have been delivered, Leitz said.

Seven office trailers and 10 storage units have been set up on the

beach.

Four generators will be in use, and approximately 3,000 feet of

cable is on-site.

Forty-eight phone lines will be installed.

For the media -- local and international -- eight types of

credentials will be issued. Thirty TV sets will be in use, as well as

a 13-by-17-foot big screen television that will give a live feed to

those sitting in the bleachers.

About 1,500 meals, catered by local restaurants, will be served

daily.

Eight luxury skyboxes will be constructed.

Staff members and event volunteers number more than 200, and the

total operating cost is estimated to be $1.3 million, Leitz said.

The project must be completed in 11 days, safe and ready for use

by 6 a.m. Saturday -- the first day of surfing competition.

The only area that will not be open to the public until July 31 is

the village, which will include about 70 booth vendors offering

services from haircuts to tattooing and a 5,000-square-foot Philips

Digital Beach House.

When the event concludes on Aug. 3, the crew will have five days

to tear it down and return the beach to its original state.

“We’re only as good as our subcontractors,” Leitz said, of which

there are 60. “One break in the chain and the whole thing can begin

to come undone.”

It’s the “little things” that can unravel a project, so it is

important to oversee all aspects of construction to make sure all the

pieces fit to create a “well-run city,” Leitz said.

“We’re running on schedule,” Production Manager Mario Bonaventura

said, adding that one snag in the early stages of construction was

the damage to a new, 30-foot-high and 50-foot-wide facade that will

frame the concert stage.

The facade will give the viewing audience the impression it is

looking at the stage on a flat-screen television. A new facade has

been built, but the new piece was lost in transit. Bonaventura says

the facade is on its way.

It’s “somewhere out there,” he said.

One change this year is that the concert stage has been moved from

Pier Plaza to sit directly on to the beach.

Four bands are scheduled to perform, and three DJs will spin over

the four days.

Security and ushers will be used extensively throughout the area.

Leitz said that T-shirt sales for the U.S. Open of Surfing began

on the Fourth of July and local surf shops on Main Street have

reported their best sales of the shirts to date. In addition, 10,000

event posters and 20,000 rave cards will be passed out.

He also said that the event will import enough athletes and

visitors to the city that more than 700 rooms will be filled each

night at four main local hotels -- including the Hyatt and Hilton --

as well as other establishments in town.

International Management Group brings its own work crews to build

special events such as Philips Fusion. The group is used to the

demands of an event of this magnitude, as it stages three events per

day on a global scale, Leitz said.

“It’s brutal and intense,” Leitz said. “But what more could you

ask for than to be doing this on a beautiful, empty beach? In a few

days, this beach will be full of beautiful people looking to have a

great time. We’re working hard now to ensure that all that happens.

All the pieces need to fit.”

International Management Group’s extensive efforts benefit the

city with a world-class event, and a hefty sum.

The company paid the city a one-time fee of $50,000 for police and

lifeguard services, business licenses and all types of permits, said

Naida Osline, specific events supervisor for the city.

“This is an important event for the culture of Huntington Beach,

and I think it speaks to the soul of a city known for its surfing

history and heritage,” Osline said. “In addition, all the other

sports they offer have a huge youth audience.

“They have done a great job of spreading out the area. It takes a

lot of determination and manpower to put together something of this

magnitude, and it’s done very professionally.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].