By LONG BEACH, CA. – Mayor Rex Richardson unveiled renderings of a new amphitheater titled the Long Beach Bowl on Jan. 14 during his third annual State of the City Event.
The amphitheater will be taking up the space of the Queen Mary’s overflow parking lot, offering a view of the ship, shore and skyline.
As I approached the entrance of the event, held at the Long Beach Convention Center, I was stopped by a young woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous. She was part of a crowd of picketers crowding the front of the center from Unite Here Local 11, a Long Beach union that has been battling contract negotiations with ASM Global.
“We’re here outside of the convention center today to ask people to not attend tonight’s event in solidarity with workers from the convention center. We’re fighting for our right to a livable wage,” she said.
ASM Global is the management company that will be responsible for contracting the Long Beach Bowl. They are also the reason why Long Beach Convention Center workers have not come to a contract agreement that aligns with the Measure RW Ordinance passed last year.
The ordinance states that it would raise wages for temporary and full-time service workers of city-owned entities such as the convention center and Long Beach Airport.
So, I turned around and headed back to the parking lot, left with many more questions beyond who the guest performer at the event would be, and decided to pose the question: does Downtown Long Beach need a concert venue of that scale?
Long Beach is home to many iconic musicians spanning from punk, to rock, to hip-hop, which is why Warren G, a Long Beach native and the surprise guest speaker at the event, stated that Long Beach is a breeding ground for creatives during Richardson’s State of the City address.
From the perspective of a music lover and citizen of Long Beach, the idea of a new entertainment center is exciting and gives hope to a city filled with artists that can allow them to access a new performance platform.
After attending last year’s Long Beach Juneteenth Event, I saw first-hand how the community shows out for its local artists.
A majority of the crowd at that event were just as excited and present for Torrance and Long Beach locals Rae Khalil and Seafood Sam as they were for the headliner and Billboard chart-topping artist, Anderson .Paak.
Following the success of festivals such as Cali Vibes in 2024, it makes sense as to why Richardson wants to increase the city’s tourism revenue via entertainment and live events. However, it raises concerns as the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has been predicted to bring in an influx of tourists, which may come as an inconvenience to locals.
On top of concerns of congestion, the alleged subcontracting taking place between ASM Global and its workers has not yet been resolved. If the amphitheater is set to open by Fall 2025, it seems unclear if conditions for temporary workers under a similar contract would be working under better conditions.
The Long Beach Convention Center failed to reach back out to the Current for a statement on the picketing that took place on the night of the Long Beach Bowl announcement as of Jan. 24.
Long Beach is truly a music city, and it has been proven time and time again as new generations of artists continue to come from this city, but our leaders must also ask themselves if those who keep the city running can make livable wages before entertainment tourism becomes a stamp on Long Beach’s cultural impact.
