Beloved by musicians, Santa Barbara Bowl turns 70

10/10/2006 8:37 PM, Reuters


Attracting big-name acts like Rod Stewart, the Eagles, Norah Jones, Def Leppard, Tony Bennett, Santana and David Bowie to a tertiary market might be unusual for some venues, but it's not uncommon for California's Santa Barbara Bowl, which has hosted all of the above and many more.

The approximately 4,500-seat amphitheater -- about 90 miles north of Los Angeles -- celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, and has been profitable for the past 11 years.

The rustic outdoor venue was built as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency designed to provide jobs during the Great Depression. Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado was also a WPA project.

The Bowl is located in the hills of the coastal city, surrounded by a neighborhood of expensive homes. General Manager Sam Scranton says numerous musicians have stated over the years that the Bowl is their favorite venue. He admits, however, that most acts are not playing the shed to get rich.

"If you look at their schedule, you'll immediately see that this is probably the smallest building they play in America," he says. "And there's no reason financially for them to do that.

Pearl Jam, which sold out the amphitheater July 13, is a perfect example, Scranton says. The gig grossed $309,072 and sold 4,552 tickets, according to Billboard Boxscore. "If you look at the numbers (Pearl Jam) were doing, they were consistently playing for 20,000 people, yet they insisted on stopping here," Scranton says.

"The venue has something special to it that nowhere has," says singer/songwriter Ben Harper, who grew up in the Santa Barbara area. "Once we played the Santa Barbara Bowl, we had made it." Harper sold out two gigs at the Bowl this summer, grossing $335,368, according to Billboard Boxscore.

The amphitheater is owned by Santa Barbara County and is run by the nonprofit Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation, which has raised about $20 million -- mostly from private individuals -- since introducing a renovation plan in 2001.

Nederlander Concerts, which exclusively books the Santa Barbara Bowl, puts about 27 concerts into the venue each year, primarily targeting concertgoers in Ventura County, Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County.

Despite its proximity to Los Angeles, Nederlander VP Moss Jacobs doesn't see the market as a competitor. "Everybody is going to play L.A. every time, there's no doubt about it," he says, adding that the Bowl mainly loses shows to Las Vegas and fairs.

Concerts in October include Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett and a two-night acoustic performance featuring Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds.

Reuters/Billboard