Arlington Theater seating capacity to grow by 2,800
Jennifer Kho
FAIRGROUNDS -- The Orange County Fair board of directors has decided
to expand the Arlington Theater but limit shows to one per night during
the annual summer fair.
The theater’s temporary lawn seating will be increased to accommodate
9,300 people. It now seats 6,500.
Shows at the theater, which opened in the 1960s, will be reduced from
two per day -- at 7 and 9 p.m. -- during the fair. The single show will
start at 8 p.m.
The decision last week to limit the shows was based on the possibility
of attracting more performers, said Steve Beazley, deputy general manager
of the fair, which will be held July 13 to 29.
“We were kind of running into a wall with acts that would play two
shows,” he said. “The more popular the acts, the bigger the names, the
less [they’re likely to want] to do two shows.
“We’re trying to offer a wide array of acts to appeal to a variety of
tastes, and this is going to open doors. We’ll have a larger menu of acts
available to us, and we’ll be able to get acts that are hotter right now
or that have a new album out.”
Fair officials had chosen a two-show format to accommodatemore people,
but the decision to expand the seating will offset the overall reduction,
Beazley said.
The two shows will be combined into one larger show, which will
continue to be included in the fair’s admission price, he said.
Fairgrounds spokeswoman Ruby Lau said the fair board will consider
adding a reserved seating section to the theater at its next meeting at
10 a.m. Jan. 25 at Memorial Gardens, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.
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